Israeli-Arab Terrorist No Longer Israeli, Haifa Court Rules

August 7, 2017

2 min read

The Haifa district court rescinded the citizenship of a resident of Umm al-Fahm Sunday, following a 2015 car ramming-stabbing attack. Two IDF soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, in the attack, which took place near the town of Gan Shmuel on Route 65 between Hadera and Pardes Hanna.

Last summer Alaa Ziyoud was convicted of the attack and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri then asked the court to rescind the attackers’ Israeli citizenship, the Hebrew-language Ynet news website reported.

“Rescinding Ziyoud’s citizenship is a measured and appropriate step,” wrote Justice Avraham Elyakim in his decision. “Every citizen has rights as well as responsibilities. One of these is the significant and important responsibility to remain faithful to the state – one way this gains expression is by refraining terror activities aimed at harming residents and state security.

The ruling puts the security spotlight on Umm al-Fahm, an Israeli-Arab city of 52,000 located southeast of Haifa for the second time in three weeks. On July 14, three residents of the city emerged from the Temple Mount and murdered two policemen adjacent to the Lion’s Gate entry to the Old City of Jerusalem.

“We must not allow Israeli citizens to threaten the lives and dignity of other israeli citizens, and a person who does something like this removes himself from the citizenry of this country. Ziyoud took advantage of his freedom of movement in order to strike a blow to national security and to public safety. He tried to instill an atmosphere of fear and to take lives,” Elyakim said.

Ynet reported that Ziyoud told the court that he was not a terrorist, but rather that he lost control of his car.

Spokespeople for the Joint List Knesset faction, which represents the Israeli-Arab sector, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

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