JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament passed a law Thursday morning that would allow it to expel family members of Palestinian attackers, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or elsewhere places.

The law, championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies, passed by a vote of 61 to 41. But legal experts said any attempt to implement the law would likely result in its annulment by the Israeli courts.

This would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed East Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks in advance or who “express support for or identification with the act of terrorism.”

They would either be expelled to the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of seven to 20 years. The war between Israel and Hamas still rages in Gaza, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and most of the population has been internally displaced. often several times.

It was not clear whether this would apply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel has already had a long-standing policy of demolishing attackers’ family homes. Palestinians have carried out numerous stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years.

Oded Feller, legal advisor to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, called the law “populist nonsense.” He added that the measure was unlikely to be implemented because there is no legal way for the Interior Ministry to send an Israeli citizen to another country or to Gaza.

His organization does not plan to challenge the law unless authorities attempt to enforce it, in which case it hopes any legal challenge will be successful.

Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, agreed that the law was likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court.

“Ultimately, this is completely unconstitutional and clearly constitutes a conflict with Israel’s core values,” Shamir-Borer said.

Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war – territories the Palestinians want for their future state. It withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but has reoccupied parts of the territory since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 sparked the war.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem, a move unrecognized by most members of the international community. Palestinians have permanent residency there and are allowed to apply for citizenship, but most choose not to do so, and those who do face a series of obstacles.

Palestinians living in Israel represent approximately 20% of the country’s population. They have citizenship and the right to vote but face widespread discrimination. Many also have close family ties to those in the territories and are mostly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.

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Melanie Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Tia Goldenberg contributed to this report from Tel Aviv.

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