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Nadia Abu Jamal, widow of Ghassan Abu Jamal who carried out deadly Jerusalem synagogue attack, holds her son in their house in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber on November 26, 2014. Photo by AFP
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Interior Ministry decision is part of larger plan to deter terrorism by subjecting terrorists' relatives to financial punishment, says minister.

By Ilan Lior and Jonathan Lis for Haaretz

Interior Minister Gilad Erdan will revoke the Israeli residency permit of the widow of one of the terrorists who attacked a Jerusalem synagogue last week, Erdan announced Wednesday.

Nadia Abu Jamal, who was married to Ghassan Abu Jamal and had been allowed to live in Israel for reasons of family reunification, will be deported to the Palestinian territories and will no longer be eligible for financial assistance from Israel or any state benefits.

"Everyone who is involved in terrorism must take into consideration that there are liable to be consequences for his family," Erdan said.

Israel has already ordered the demolition of the homes of Ghassan and Oday Abu Jamal, cousins from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber who perpetrated the synagogue attack that killed four worshippers and a policeman.

The state may also continue to refuse to return the synagogue terrorists bodies to their families, the police legal adviser informed the Abu Jamal family Tuesday.

Also this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would advance a law to revoke the residency rights of terrorists and their relatives and ban residents convicted of incitement from receiving state benefits.

And Erdan revoked the permanent residency of Mahmoud Nadi, the driver who brought a suicide bomber to Tel Aviv's Dolphinarium nightclub in 2001. Twenty-one people were killed in the attack.

The decision means he will be stripped of the right to his national identity card or state benefits, including health insurance.

"A wave of terror and incitement is engulfing the State of Israel," said Erdan this week. "It involves residents of the country, who are carrying out terror attacks, helping to do so and justifying them, and even inciting others to carry out crimes and murder. These people cannot continue to enjoy the benefits of permanent resident status, and I will act with all my strength to revoke their residency status and keep them from getting any financial benefit that this residency grants them."

Erdan has asked Interior Ministry staff to examine how he could extend his authority and revoke the permanent residency status of Arabs living in East Jerusalem who support terrorism and incitement to violence.