Gan Shmuel attack
Gan Shmuel attackMagen David Adom

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) filed a request to the Haifa District Court Sunday, to initiate the revocation of the citizenship of the Israeli-Arab terrorist who rammed his car into pedestrians in Gan Shmuel, Allaa Rayid Ahmad Ziyud. 

In October 2015, Ziyud ran over two soldiers at a Gan Shmuel bus stop - including a female soldier who was seriously wounded - before getting out of his car and stabbing two others. He was overpowered by a civilian who managed to bring him down after being stabbed several times.

Ziyud, a man in his twenties from Umm al-Fahm, is an Israeli citizen born to an Arab Israeli citizen mother and a Palestinian Arab father with permanent residency status; he had received this status as part of "family reunification" between Arabs already in Israel and their family members elsewhere. 

Then-Interior Minister Silvan Shalom (Likud) made the request to strip Ziyud of citizenship soon after the attack, but various governmental changes have apparently stalled the decision. 

More recently, Deri announced he would not renew the father's residency, stating that he would be holding families of terrorists responsible for their actions. 

Deri's office noted Sunday that, indeed, the citizenship revocation procedure began immediately after the attack, and after receiving the green light from the Attorney General, as required, the application was filed to the Haifa District Court. 

"Deprivation of citizenship is a rare and serious step, but we have to run a hard line against anyone who harms the security of the state and its citizens," Deri stated Sunday.