CAIRO: Five Egyptians have been stripped of their citizenship per a decision by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab; according to the Official Gazette.
Mohamed al-Besheity allegedly joined the military of a foreign country without a prior license from the Ministry of Defense, according to the Aug. 22 issue of the newspaper, which did not cite Besheity’s other nationality. However, Besheity’s family is known to mostly reside in Gaza Strip.
Refqa, Samuel and David Daniel acquired the Israeli nationality without permission from the Ministry of Interior, according to the Aug. 20 issue.
Naturalized Palestinians
On the Aug. 19 issue, the newspaper reported that Zoheir Ghazal was stripped of his citizenship for “cheating administration by hiding his mother’s Palestinian nationality.”
The appendix of the Official Gazeete, Al-Waqai al-Masriya, published on Aug. 22 that the request of Palestinian Walaa Selim Mohamed al-Battah, 24, to be naturalized was rejected by the Ministry of Interior for security reasons.
Walaa’s father was stripped of his Egyptian citizenship, which he acquired from his Egyptian mother, in June because he “works for the intelligence of a foreign country,” according to the Official Gazette.
The children of Egyptian mothers with foreign fathers were not allowed to acquire their mother’s nationality until 2004, with the exception of children of Palestinian fathers. In 2010, the Administrative Court ruled the exception illegal.
Children born before these laws were issued are not given the nationality by default, and must apply a request to the Ministry of Interior to be naturalized.
After the January 25 Revolution in 2011, it was reportedly easier for half-Palestinians born to Egyptian mothers to be naturalized, especially during the one year-rule of former President Mohamed Morsi. Several Palestinians naturalized during that period were stripped of their newly acquired Egyptian citizenship after Morsi was ousted, with the government citing security reasons.
According to Article 10 of the Egyptian Nationality Law, no Egyptian citizen may acquire another citizenship without permission from the Minister of Interior; if he were to take a foreign nationality without the permit, the Cabinet may revoke his Egyptian citizenship.
The Egyptian nationality may also be stripped from a person convicted of treason, or one who joins a foreign military without permission from the Egyptian Ministry of Defense.