The Knesset plenum finally approved this evening (Monday), in second and third reading, the bill allowing for the death penalty for terrorists.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in favor of the law, along with MKs from the Yisrael Beyteinu faction. On the other hand, MK Benny Gantz, along with members of the Degel Hatorah faction, chose to vote against it. Noam Chairman MK Avi Maoz was not present.
During the preliminary discussion, the chairman of the National Security Committee, MK Zvika Fogel, presented the law as an essential tool in the current war. "The State of Israel is facing unparalleled evil and hatred," said Fogel.
"Our enemies do not seek a border, a compromise or a shared future, but to destroy, harm, sow fear here and undermine our very existence here," continued Fogel. "Faced with such a reality, our responsibility is clear - to protect the citizens of Israel. Not with words or hopes, but with deeds. This law is not a law of revenge or rage, but of the responsibility of a state towards its citizens, of leadership towards human life."
He said, "The reality has changed and, to my delight, so has the security perception of the senior security officials, especially after we parted ways with those who were defenders of the concept and now everyone supports the need to advance the proposal, even if they had comments on its details. After dozens of discussions, most of which were in-depth and serious, a balanced proposal was formulated here that understands the complexity of reality but also does not deny it."
"The existing option for the death penalty in Israeli law has not been implemented since the Eichmann trial," he continued. "This bill adds a significant layer to the wall of defense that we are obligated to build, especially since that Black Sabbath. We are not bloodthirsty and do not seek to kill, we are a people who sanctify life and precisely for that reason cannot afford to abandon life. This law is part of a set of changes and another layer on the path to winning the War of Rebirth and the struggle for our future and the future of our children."
On the other hand, MK Gilad Kariv delivered a harsh rebuke speech against the move, claiming that it was an "immoral, unJewish and undemocratic" law.
The proposed wording seeks to transform the death penalty from a theoretical option into an applied punishment tool, while creating a distinction between regions. In Judea and Samaria, the death penalty will be the "default" for murder offenses under terrorist circumstances. Unanimous consent of the judges will not be required (unlike the current situation), and there will be no possibility of pardon or commutation of the sentence by the commander-in-chief.
Within the Green Line, the court can only impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on someone who intentionally causes the death of a person with the aim of harming the state.
The Minister of Defense will be able to determine whether a terrorist from Judea and Samaria will be tried in a military or civilian court. The person sentenced to death will be held in a separate wing of the prison, and the sentence will be carried out within 90 days after an automatic appeal.
Within the 'Green Line,' the court can only impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on someone who intentionally causes the death of a person with the aim of harming the state.
The Minister of Defense will be able to determine whether a terrorist from Judea and Samaria will be tried in a military or civilian court. The person sentenced to death will be held in a separate wing, and the sentence will be carried out within 90 days after an automatic appeal.
Under the current law, military courts currently have a clause that allows for the death penalty, but it is conditional on the unanimous consent of the judges and the execution would be carried out by firing squad.
Although the death penalty appears in the Israeli law book under the offenses of treason, waging war and aiding the enemy, the legal system has refrained from using it for decades. Since the establishment of the state, only one person has been executed by virtue of a civilian verdict - Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in June 1962.