"We will not be actors in their play": Authority for the law on deporting terrorists' families to be transferred to the PM

The government is expected to approve the transfer of authority regarding the implementation of the law for the deportation of terrorists' families to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This step follows the exposure by Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynet regarding the blocking of the law's implementation, and its failure to be realized nearly two years after it passed in the Knesset. The move comes against the backdrop of the revelation that the law was not implemented, partly due to the opposition of the Attorney General's office, but also because the law's powers had not yet been transferred from the Ministry of Interior, where there has been no responsible minister capable of implementing the law since last October. Following the government's approval, the transfer of authority will also require the approval of the Knesset plenum. Convening the plenum can be done without the opposition's consent, but it is customary to do things by broad consensus during the election recess.

The exposure sparked many reactions in the coalition, which criticized the opposition from the Attorney General's representatives. MK Hanoch Milwidsky and MK Almog Cohen, who were among the initiators of the law, lashed out at the legal counsel. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attacked:

"This is what the absolute control of the judicial system in the State of Israel looks like. The Attorney General and the Supreme Court expect us, the legislators, to be actors in their play. This is an unbearable reality that will be stopped through the passage of a judicial reform. In the end, we will defeat the unbridled takeover by the judicial system."

Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded: "As I announced, in the next Knesset, my threshold condition for entering the government will be to immediately end the tenure of the Attorney General and restore governance and deterrence to the State of Israel." Chairman of the Constitution Committee, MK Simcha Rothman, added: "Baharab-Miara has led a culture of ignoring Knesset laws. Thanks to the Attorney General law I passed, this dangerous madness will end with the swearing-in of the next government." MK Avichay Buaron said: "The exposure is evidence of an unprecedented blow to Israeli democracy. When legal bureaucracy acts against the law to prevent the implementation of a law enacted in the Knesset, even though the court did not issue an order preventing it — it is a trampling of the rule of law, the Knesset, and the public's will."

Difficulties in implementing the law

Yesterday, internal documents, email correspondence, and minutes of meetings were revealed with the participation of senior Israel Police officials, the Attorney General's office, and relevant government ministries regarding the implementation of the law — which has remained on paper for the time being. According to the law, approved in November 2024 by a majority of 61 MKs, the Minister of Interior is authorized to order, subject to a hearing, the deportation of a terrorist's family member if they knew in advance about their relative's plan to commit a terrorist act, if they expressed support or identification with a terrorist act, or if they published words of praise, sympathy, or encouragement for a terrorist act.

But since its enactment, it has not been implemented even once — mainly due to the opposition of the legal advisory bodies. In one case, former Interior Minister Moshe Arbel submitted a hearing notice to the families of three terrorists who incited terrorism. However, in the meetings intended to advance the deportation move, the legal echelon raised quite a few problems associated, in their view, with its implementation. The representative of the legal counsel of the Population and Immigration Authority claimed that Minister Arbel did not consult with her at all before issuing the hearing letters.

In addition, the request to approve the deportation of the three came from the Jerusalem District, but the person who transferred it to the Interior Minister's office was Brigadier General Shlomit Landes, head of the Police Investigations Division. It turned out she did so contrary to the opinion of the legal advisor to the Ministry of National Security, Adv. Ariel Sizel, according to which "the law does not have retroactive application, and therefore it applies only to cases where the incitement event occurred after the law entered into force."

The Shin Bet representative also joined the criticism, saying: "We did not know about these requests at all until we were summoned to this meeting," the Shin Bet official claimed during the discussion. "We did not understand why these three were chosen. We request that if there is another move in the future, it be done in cooperation with us as is customary to this day. The law was not accepted in accordance with the position we presented in the Knesset, and many clauses were accepted even though our position was different."

The Shin Bet representative even complained: "That is not how you notify us. Someone here is completely confused. Shin Bet is responsible for security, and it is not proper to do this without coordinating with us. Whoever wants to step into our shoes and establish a 'Shin Bet B' — let them announce it. You could have mistakenly deported someone sensitive whom we prioritize differently. This is disrespectful on the part of the police. We did not know about the hearings, and this could harm hostage deals and other matters." The police's deportation requests began to flow to the Ministry of Interior through the legal advisor to the Ministry of National Security, but at the end of July 2025, the conscription law crisis worsened, and the representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties — including Interior Minister Arbel — resigned from the government. According to the deportation law, from that moment on, there is no one authorized to approve the police's deportation requests, and these continued to pile up at the Ministry of Interior without treatment.