Interior Minister Gilad Erdan
Interior Minister Gilad ErdanMiriam Alster/Flash90

Interior Minister Gilad Erdan has filed a formal request to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to allow the citizenship of three Israelis involved in terror attacks to be revoked, he announced Tuesday afternoon.

"Imagine sitting at home, and then someone breaks in and starts smashing windows, breaking furniture and destroying your china," he explained. "In the end he even sits down and asks for a cup of coffee and cake. Weird, is not it? That's pretty much the situation with terrorists Arab citizens of Israel. and certainly it is time to end it."

"Today I asked the attorney general to submit my name in a report to repeal the citizenship of three Israeli civilians, who were involved in attacks and acts of terror against Israel," he continued. "My request is based on Article 11 of the Citizenship Law, according to which the Minister of Interior may apply to the court to cancel the Israeli citizenship for civilians who have been deemed to have been guilty of a breach of trust." 

Those three terrorists include Muhammed Faraj, who was involved in a Tel Aviv bus bombing in 2012; and arch-terrorists Dorgam Mahaj'na and Orsan Assad, who have been involved directly and indirectly in terrorist acts.

"Anyone involved in terrorism and anyone who commits serious crimes against the people of Israel for nationalistic reasons cannot continue to carry Israeli citizenship and enjoy the rights that come with it," Erdan said. "Anyone who thinks to engage in terrorism should also know that he will not enjoy the benefits of the state and its citizens."

"It is important to clarify that Jewish citizens in similar cases will be exposed to these measures and sanctions," he added. 

The Interior Minister announced recently that he was examining the possibility of expanding his powers to expel Arab terrorists from Jerusalem, precisely by revoking their residency permits.

Last month, he cancelled the permanent residency status of Mahmoud Nadi, the driver for the suicide bomber responsible for the bombing at the Dolphinarium Disco in Tel Aviv in June 2001. That attack killed 21 people and wounded over 100 others.

Weeks later, he also expelled Nadia Abu Jamal, the wife of one of the two Arab terrorists who attacked a Har Nof synagogue in Jerusalem, murdering four Jews at prayer and a police officer, on similar grounds.