The Israeli parliament has approved in the first reading a government bill that would introduce the death penalty for terrorists who kill Israelis. 39 MPs voted in favor. The Times of Israel reports.
The bill was opposed by 16 members of parliament. Two alternative documents submitted by MPs from the “Likud” and Yisrael Beitenu, also received support, 36-15 and 37-14 respectively.
The bill would make the death penalty mandatory for the killing of an Israeli citizen committed for nationalistic reasons. It would also allow military courts in the West Bank to pass such sentences by a simple majority vote instead of a unanimous decision, and would eliminate the possibility of military commanders mitigating the sentence.
The document addresses crimes committed “for racist reasons” and “with the aim of harming the State of Israel and the revival of the Jewish people in its land.” This has already drawn criticism from the opposition, which believes that the law may be applied selectively – mainly against Arabs, and not against Jewish extremists.
“Today we have taken a historic step towards true justice and strengthening the deterrence of terror”, – said the initiator of the bill, Limor Son Har-Melech, after the vote.
The bill will now be referred to a parliamentary committee to prepare for the second and third readings, after which it can enter into force. In the event of final approval of the document, Israel will for the first time receive a legal mechanism for applying the death penalty to persons convicted of terrorist acts.
