Israeli Prime Minister on Thursday requested a court to rescind the Israeli citizenship of two Palestinian men convicted of terrorism offenses.

This effort seems to mark the first use of a law passed three years ago that allows revoking citizenship and subsequent deportation of Palestinian citizens convicted of specific violent crimes—including terrorism—who received financial support from the Palestinian Authority as a reward.

Netanyahu submitted court documents arguing that the severity of the crimes, along with payments the men are said to have received from a Palestinian Authority fund, justify stripping their citizenship and expelling them from the Jewish State.

The prime minister has long maintained that the fund incentivizes violence, including attacks on civilians.

However, Palestinian officials have argued that the fund serves as a safety net for a broad segment of society with family members in Israeli detention. They also accused Netanyahu of fixating on the relatively small number of beneficiaries who committed attacks.

When the law was enacted, critics claimed it enabled Israel’s legal system to treat Jewish and Palestinian individuals unequally. Civil rights groups stated that basing a deportation law on Palestinian Authority payments effectively exempted Jewish Israelis—including settlers convicted of attacks on Palestinians—from the risk of losing their citizenship, as the statute targeted people of a specific race.

Netanyahu stated this week that the government had initiated proceedings against the two men and that similar cases would be pursued in the future.

Israeli officials said Mohamad Ahmad, a Jerusalem citizen, was convicted of “offenses and receiving funds related to terrorism.” He allegedly received payment after being sentenced in 2002 for a shooting attack and serving 23 years before his 2024 release.

Mohammed Ahmad Hussein al-Halsi was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years in prison for stabbing elderly women. He also allegedly received payments while incarcerated.

Ahmad would be deported immediately, while al-Halsi would be removed upon his release, as individuals are subject to once their sentences are complete under the 2023 law. The law applies to citizens or permanent residents convicted of “committing an act that constitutes a breach of loyalty to the State of Israel,” including terrorism.

Hassan Jabareen, general director of Israel’s Adalah legal center, described the decision to use the law as “a cynical propaganda move” by Netanyahu. He said revoking citizenship violated the most basic rule of law principles, including acting against individuals who had completed their prison sentences.

“The Israeli government is trying to strip individuals of the very foundation through which all rights are protected—their nationality,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday.