Interior, Justice Ministers Revoke Terrorists’ Residencies
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Justice Minister Amir Ohana agreed Thursday to cancel the permanent residency status of two eastern Jerusalem residents who committed terrorist attacks.
One of the terrorists is Akhzak Taher Salah Arafa serving a life sentence and an additional 60 years in prison for a 2011 attack near the International Convention Center in Jerusalem that resulted in the deaths of two women and dozens of injuries.
The other terrorist is Munir Rajabi, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in a 2003 suicide bombing in Haifa in which 17 people were murdered, including many students.
Minister Deri said today: “Whoever caused the murder of Israeli residents, injured dozens of residents and deliberately endangered the security of the state and the security of residents and citizens – should not hold any status in Israel.”
Minister Ohana said; “Today, as Minister of Justice, I have agreed to abolish the permanent residency of two terrorists who were involved in murderous attacks in which dozens of Israelis were murdered. This is a closure for me, because this signature is made possible by a law I passed in the Knesset.”
He added: “The law never came into effect, unfortunately, because of the High Court’s decision to accept the Hamas petitions against the decisions of five different interior ministers, from different parties, who sought to revoke the permanent residency of those Hamas convicted of terrorist offenses, and some even represented Hamas in the Palestinian Authority’s parliament.”
