Right praises, Left slams upholding of Citizenship Law
Justices rule 6-5 to uphold law barring Palestinians from naturalization through marriage.
Knesset members on the Left slammed the High Court of Justice ruling to uphold the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, saying on Thursday that it is undemocratic, while those on the Right lauded the court for defending Israel.The High Court on Wednesday night rejected petitions by MK Zehava Gal-On (Meretz), the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Hamoked Center for the Defense of the Individual and the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel against the Citizenship Law, by a majority of six justices to five. RELATED:'We need citizenship law because of Palestinian terror'Law and disorderFirst passed as a temporary order in 2003, the legislation has been extended several times, and prevents residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip married to Israelis from receiving Israeli citizenship and residency permits. In 2006, the High Court rejected a previous petition asking to annul the law, also by a ruling of six to five.
The latest petition argued that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty by denying citizens the right to family life, solely on the basis of their spouse’s ethnicity. In addition, Hamoked claimed that the law harmed children born to Palestinian-Israeli couples by denying them any legal status in Israel.