State prosecutors have filed a precedent-setting application with the Central District Court to revoke the Israeli citizenship of two security prisoners convicted of plotting to sabotage national telecommunications infrastructure on behalf of Hamas, the Justice Ministry announced.
The court motion, filed against Rani Auf and Shadi Aidi, both former employees of the major Israeli telecom firm Cellcom, marks the first time the state has utilized the criminal track under the Citizenship Law to strip citizenship on grounds of a "breach of loyalty."
The move was initiated at the explicit request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who currently holds the authority of the Interior Minister on this matter, and was approved by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Exploited high-level clearance
Auf and Aidi, who held extensive administrator access to Cellcom's IT and computing systems as part of their jobs, were previously convicted of severe security offenses driven by nationalist and ideological motives.
According to the original indictment, to which both men confessed, the pair planned to shut down Cellcom’s network during a time of war or major military operation. The objective was to aid Hamas by knocking out communications used heavily by Israeli security forces and emergency services.
Prosecutors detailed how Auf maintained ongoing contact with senior Hamas operatives based in Turkey, transferring sensitive operational data regarding Cellcom's infrastructure and cybersecurity protocols.
In 2024, the court sentenced Auf to 11 years in prison, while Aidi received a 5.5-year sentence.
'Acts of outright treason'
In the motion, submitted jointly by the Central District Attorney’s Office (Civil) and the State Attorney’s Cyber Department, state attorneys argued that the severity of the plot demands the harshest legal recourse available under Israeli law.
"The actions of which the defendants were convicted justify taking the extreme step of revoking citizenship, as this represents an exceptional and severe breach of the duty of loyalty," the state wrote.
The prosecution emphasized that the plot was not a spontaneous decision, but a calculated, long-term conspiracy that abused access to critical national infrastructure in order to assist an enemy during wartime, amounting to "outright acts of treason."
If granted by the court, the ruling will mark a major legal milestone in Israel's framework for stripping citizenship from individuals convicted of terrorism and high treason.
