Israeli media said that the Knesset will present today (Monday) the draft “Execution of Palestinian Prisoners Law” for a first reading vote.
Last Monday, the “Security” Committee in the Knesset approved the submission of a draft law allowing the implementation of death sentences against prisoners, to a vote before the General Assembly of the Knesset, in a move that sparked a widespread wave of condemnation locally and internationally, according to what the Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported.
This development comes amid pressure exerted by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who threatened that his Otzma Yehudit party would not vote in favor of the ruling coalition’s draft laws if the death penalty law was not put to a vote.
The law is considered part of the agreements that were signed to conclude the deal to form the government coalition headed by the head of the Likud Party, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Itamar Ben Gvir, in late 2022.
The draft law on executing prisoners is not new. It was proposed repeatedly over the past years, most recently in 2022 when Ben Gvir re-presented it with a group of amendments, until the Knesset approved it in preliminary reading in March 2023.
The draft law stipulates “the death penalty shall be imposed on every person who intentionally or through carelessness causes the death of an Israeli citizen out of a racist or hate motive and causing harm to Israel.”
Approval of the law on first reading will allow its discussion to continue in the upcoming Knesset sessions, even if its legislation is not completed during the current parliamentary session.
According to Israeli media, the bill is expected to be approved in today’s vote, with a small margin of votes.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich expressed his support for the draft law, but he previously threatened to stop cooperation with the ruling coalition until tax exemption legislation for reservists was passed.
In turn, Rabbi Dov Landau, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party, instructed members of his party to vote against the government-backed bill.
According to the Times of Israel, a spokesman for Landow said that such a law would endanger the lives of Jews. “Because if Arabs around the world see us doing such a thing, it could lead to bloodshed.”
