Newly appointed Interior Minister Gilad Erdan announced on Nov. 23 that he had revoked the permanent residency status of Mahmoud Nadi, a resident of the Israeli Arab town of Jaljulye. In 2001, Nadi drove the suicide bomber to the terrorist attack on Tel Aviv’s Dolphinarium club, where 21 youths were killed and 110 wounded. He was convicted of being an accomplice to manslaughter, of assisting in causing severe bodily harm and of assisting illegal entry into Israel. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison.

This is one of the first resolutions made by Erdan in his capacity as interior minister, and judging by his statements, he seems to be intent on wielding his power as far as possible. He has already instructed his staff to examine ways to revoke the permanent residency and associated social benefits of East Jerusalem Arabs who support and encourage terrorism.

Erdan has even written on his Facebook page concerning his decision: “In view of the severity of his deeds and the callous breach of trust in the State of Israel, I have decided this morning to cancel the permanent residency status of Nadi. He will no longer be listed in the Population Registry, he will lose his blue identification card and he will no longer be eligible for any social benefit such as national insurance and health insurance. People like him cannot possibly continue to enjoy the status of permanent residency and receive the benefits granted by the state to its residents.”

Erdan's swift revocation of Nadi’s permanent residency status and Erdan’s statements indicate that the minister, who had shown in his previous positions his activism and keenness on reform, plans to make full use of the authority of residency revocation as a tool against terrorism. Going by the reactions to his Facebook post, he is also going to gain from this move in both the public and political arenas.