ISRAEL’S parliament passed a law early today that would allow it to deport family members of Palestinian fighters, including the country’s own citizens, to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip or other locations.

The law, another example of collective punishment for which the Israelis have been accused was championed by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right allies.

But the law, passed with a 61-41 vote, is likely to face a challenge in the courts.

The law would apply to Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of annexed East Jerusalem who knew about their family members’ attacks beforehand or who “express support or identification with the act of terrorism.”

Palestinians would face banishment to either the Gaza Strip or another location, for a period of seven to 20 years. 

It was unclear if the new law would apply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel already has a long-standing policy of demolishing the family homes of Palestinians. 

Eran Shamir-Borer, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute and a former international law expert for the Israeli military, said that if the law comes before the Supreme Court, it is likely to be struck down based on previous Israeli cases regarding deportation.

He said: “The bottom line is this is completely non-constitutional and a clear conflict to Israel’s core values.”

Palestinians living in Israel make up about 20 per cent of the country’s population. They have citizenship and the right to vote but face widespread discrimination. 

Many also have close family ties to those in the territories.

Meanwhile the Israelis carried out a series of massive air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs early on Thursday.

One of the attacks targeted a site near to Lebanon’s only international airport. 

Beirut’s airport has not been directly targeted in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and national air carrier Middle East Airlines has continued to operate commercial flights.

The Israeli military had issued an evacuation notice for the site, saying there were Hezbollah facilities there, without giving more details.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Today, the Israeli military announced that it expanded its month-old ground operation in northern Gaza to include part of Beit Lahiya, a town that has been heavily bombed since the earliest days of the war, where Israel says Hamas militants have regrouped.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech aired on Wednesday that the Lebanese militant group is open for ceasefire negotiations only once “the enemy stops its aggression.”

His speech marked the 40-day mourning period since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.