Coalition chairman to promote a bill that would forbid Israelis from appearing before international bodies with operational powers.

Coalition chairman MK David Bitan (Likud) is planning to promote a new bill that would forbid Israelis from appearing before international bodies with operational powers, such as the UN Security Council, Channel 2 News reported on Saturday.

The proposal comes following the appearance by B’Tselem executive director Hagai El-Ad at a UN Security Council meeting on Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, in which he spoke against Israeli “occupation” in Judea and Samaria.

On Friday, Bitan told Channel 2 that he was looking into the legal possibility of revoking El-ad’s citizenship due to his defaming of Israel before the UN Security Council.

According to Saturday’s report, Bitan discovered that legally it would not be possible to revoke El-ad’s citizenship, and he therefore decided on a new course of action in the form of promoting legislation against anti-Israel speeches like the one given by El-ad.

Bitan’s original plan was met with criticism from both the left and the right. Meretz chairwoman MK Zehava Galon said, “Maybe instead of revoking the citizenship of political opponents, MK Bitan, you could simply distribute to organization blacklists of people whom they should not employ?”

“These calls are dangerous. In a democratic country, citizenship is a basic right. It is not a gift granted to those who are favorable in the eyes of the chairman of the coalition,” she added.

The idea was also criticized by MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home).

“We will not revoke Hagai El-ad’s citizenship! He did indeed cross a democratic red line, but there is no reason to revoke his citizenship. Balance is the key here,” Smotrich said Saturday night.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/219274