JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to deport the families of Palestinians who attack Israelis from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu asked Israel’s attorney general to approve the action in a letter sent Wednesday, according to Israeli media reports.
“Many terror attacks in recent months were carried out by terrorists who fit into the profile of ‘lone attackers.’ These attackers come from families that support and assist their actions,” he wrote to Avichai Mandelblit.
“I am requesting your legal opinion regarding the possibility of expelling family members that support terror to Gaza. I am convinced that such a measure will lead to a significant decrease in the number of terror attacks against the State of Israel, its citizens and its residents.”
Mandelblit, who took over as attorney general last month, said recently that deporting terrorists’ families to Gaza or Syria is against Israeli and international law. He was responding to a query by government ministers from Netanyahu’s Likud party. Netanyahu reportedly called for such deportations last week at a party faction meeting.
Demolishing the homes of the families of terrorists has been Israel’s preferred deterrent method in recent years.
