Haifa–Shoukri el-Shazli, leader of the Egyptian community in Israel, said it is not possible to strip Egyptians in Israel of their nationality. El-Shazli’s comments come after Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court upheld a ruling ordering Egypt’s Interior Ministry to revoke the citizenship of Egyptians married to Israeli women.
El-Shazli told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Egyptians in Israel do not believe they will lose their citizenship, as this would create political and social problems not only on the Egyptian-Israeli level, but also on the international level.
El-Shazli said Egyptians in Israel have the option of requesting the United Nations and the Security Council to take up their case, but “For now, they will not resort to this, as they believe in the justice of Egyptian law, that they will not lose their citizenship.”
El-Shazli said raising this issue has had a positive effect, with the Egyptian judge ruling on the case asserting for the first time the necessity of differentiating between Egyptians who have married Jewish Israelis and Egyptians who have married Palestinian Israelis.
Ragi Faragallah, an Egyptian residing in Nazareth, said, “Egyptians plan to approach the Egyptian ambassador in Israel asking for a clarification of the decision, and will then take their next step based on consensus.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
