The foreign ministers of several European countries have condemned Israel's proposed bill to issue the death penalty for convicted terrorists, calling it "inhumane" and "degrading" while ignoring the deaths of the terrorists' victims.
The bill is expected to be brought for a vote on Monday.
"We, the Foreign Ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, express our deep concern about a bill that would significantly expand the possibilities to impose the death penalty in Israel and that could be voted into law next week," the ministers said in a statement. "We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill. The adoption of this bill would risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regards to democratic principles."
"The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect. This is why we oppose the death penalty, whatever the circumstances around the world. The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us.
"We urge the Israeli decision makers in Knesset and Government to abandon these plans," they concluded.
The bill, advanced by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and MK Limor Son Har-Melech, is expected to come up for final approval in the Knesset plenum this week.
According to the approved version of the bill, a terrorist who intentionally causes the death of a person in the course of a terrorist act motivated by nationalist ideology will face the death penalty.
The legislation includes several groundbreaking provisions in the Israeli legal system: courts will be required to impose the death sentence with no discretion for leniency, and a unanimous decision by the panel of judges will not be necessary.
In addition, the sentence will be carried out by the Israel Prison Service through hanging, and execution must take place within 90 days of the final verdict. The law also strips the President of the authority to grant clemency to terrorists sentenced to death.
Former senior ISA official Amit Asa expressed support for the bill, and addressed the cultural significance of the type of punishment.
He said, "In an Arab culture that sanctifies death, hanging in the street will be a powerful symbol of punishment."
Asa added, "I think that if we use that symbol also in our enforcement system and in the punishment we carry out, there will also be a cultural value in the war."
In response to a question from one of the MKs asking whether he proposes to include it in the bill, Asa replied, "Our enemies will see hanging in the street as more significant than in a prison. I support that for its cultural impact."