Tel Aviv – Zaytoun News
A parliamentary committee of the Israeli Knesset on Sunday discussed a controversial bill that would allow the execution of Palestinian prisoners, ahead of a planned first reading in the general assembly.
During the session of the so-called Israeli National Security Committee, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that while some close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested postponing the discussion, he rejected the idea. “This law is a matter of the hour, to create strong deterrence and impose the death penalty on prisoners,” he stated.
The bill is part of agreements signed to form the governing coalition led by Netanyahu’s Likud party and Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit in late 2022. In March 2023, the Knesset approved a preliminary reading of a law allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners “convicted of killing Israelis,” proposed by Ben-Gvir and supported by Netanyahu.
The legislation stipulates imposing the death penalty on anyone who intentionally or negligently causes the death of an Israeli citizen out of racial or ideological hatred, or with the aim of harming Israel.
The push for this far-right law comes amid Israel’s ongoing aggression on Gaza and the West Bank, which began in October 2023, and has resulted in widespread casualties and destruction among the Palestinian population.
36 Total Count
