Egypt's supreme administrative court ruled that Egyptians who are married to Israeli women may be stripped of their citizenship if their marriage "poses a threat to national security," Al-Jazeera reported.
Egypt was the first country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1979. However, relations between the two states have remained strained in the recent years, particularly over the Palestinian issue. An estimated 15,000 Egyptian-Jewish couples are thought to live in Egypt.
"The court asks the ministry of interior to present all the marriages to the cabinet to examine... Each case should be investigated separately and with consideration to personal freedoms and the nation's security," said Mohammed al-Husseini, a judge with the country's supreme administrative court.
The move is to save the country from a generation "disloyal to Egypt and the Arab world." For example, people born in such families may not be allowed to perform their military service.
"Popular sentiment [in Egypt] is primarily determined by the Palestinian situation. And this has given more room to lawsuits filed in Egyptian courts against anything that appears remotely sympathetic to Israel or its citizens," Al-Jazeera correspondent in Egypt reported.
"It's not clear whether the Egyptian government will indeed enforce the verdict," Rawya Rageh said.
The supreme administrative court's ruling cannot be changed or appealed.
MOSCOW, June 6 (RIA Novosti)
