 "‘Only one punishment — death’: Israel advances bill proposing capital punishment for deadly terror attacks")
An Israeli parliamentary committee on Monday approved a bill proposing the death penalty for “terrorists,” a measure pushed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The National Security Committee endorsed the amendment to the penal code, sending it to parliament for its first reading.
Israel’s hostages coordinator, Gal Hirsch, said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported the proposal.
Ben Gvir warned that his party, Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), would withhold support from the governing coalition if the bill is not brought to a vote by Sunday, threatening the government’s stability.
Although Israeli law allows capital punishment for a few offences, the country has effectively abolished its use, with Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann being the last person executed in 1962.
The committee said the bill aims “to cut off terrorism at its root and create a heavy deterrent.”
“It is proposed that a terrorist convicted of murder motivated by racism or hatred towards the public, and under circumstances where the act was committed with the intent to harm the State of Israel… will be sentenced to the death penalty – mandatory,” the statement said.
The rule, it said, was “not optional and without discretion”.
The text also proposes that the death penalty can be imposed by a majority of judges and the sentence cannot be commuted once the ruling is handed down.
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Hirsch had previously opposed debating the bill citing concern for living captives held in Gaza.
“Since the hostages are now in Israel, this opposition is no longer relevant,” he said, according to the statement.
“The prime minister supports this proposal. I consider this law to be an additional tool in our arsenal against terrorism and for the release of hostages,” he added.
The bill was introduced by a lawmaker from Otzma Yehudit.
“There will be no room for discretion in this law,” Ben Gvir said on Monday, according to the statement.
“Any terrorist who is preparing to commit murder must know that there is only one punishment – the death penalty."
Ben Gvir on Friday posted a video of himself standing over a row of Palestinian prisoners lying face down on the ground with their hands tied, in which he called for capital punishment.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian foreign ministry denounced the move, saying it was a “new form of escalating Israeli extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people”.
“It is a dangerous step aimed at continuing genocide and ethnic cleansing under the guise of legitimacy."
Palestinian militant group Hamas also condemned the move, saying it “embodies the ugly fascist face of the rogue Zionist occupation and represents a blatant violation of international law”.
“We call upon the United Nations, the international community, and relevant human rights and humanitarian organisations to take immediate action to stop this brutal crime,” it added in a statement.
With inputs from agencies
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