Three MKs ejected as Knesset advances bill on death penalty for terrorist murderers - The Jewish Chronicle

There were heated confrontations in the Knesset yesterday as lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill extending the death penalty to terrorist murderers.

The law, sponsored by opposition party Yisrael Beiteinu and backed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, would give courts discretion to hand down a capital sentence to perpetrators of terrorist attacks that kill Israelis.

It passed its first reading in a half-empty chamber by a vote of 36 to 16.

The death penalty does exist in Israeli law, but has only been handed down twice. First, in 1948, IDF officer Meir Tobianski was executed for treason, only to be exonerated shortly after. The second case was that of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, known as the architect of the Holocaust, in 1962.
Uncertainty had lingered over whether the bill would pass as both Yesh Atid, the largest opposition party, and Degel HaTorah, one of the two factions making up United Torah Judaism, pledged to vote against it.

But backing from the coalition and the low attendance for the vote saw it sail through first reading. It will need to pass a further three parliamentary stages before it becomes law.

But the sparse turnout did not prevent a febrile atmosphere from developing, with three Arab-Israeli MKs ejected from the chamber.

Ra'am MK Waleed Taha got into a war of words with coalition lawmakers, who attempted to shout down his speech, in which he accused Israel of killing civilians in Gaza.

Then, Hadash-Ta’al leader Ayman Odeh almost came to blows with Ben-Gvir, with Odeh calling the Otzma Yehudit chair a "terrorist" before being ushered away by security.

Ahmad Tibi, also of Odeh's party, was then similarly ejected after a shouting match with some far-right MKs during the debate.

The bill is expected to become law thanks to government backing after Ben-Gvir said he would no longer feel obligated to instruct his party to vote with the coalition, of which it is a member, if the law failed.
Prime Minister Netanyahu previously opposed the measure over fear of reprisals against Israelis, but reversed that position after the agreement of the Gaza ceasefire.

However, Ben-Gvir has asked for the legislation to go further, making the death sentence automatic for terrorist murderers rather than leaving the decision to judges.

"Every terrorist who goes out to murder must know that the death penalty will be imposed on him," he told the Knesset National Security Committee.

The bill has also generated significant interest abroad, including when UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese shared a social media post mischaracterising it as a licence to execute Palestinian “hostages”.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, accused Albanese of promoting a “blood libel” with her post.

He told the JC: “Francesca Albanese’s latest post is pure disinformation and incitement. There is no Israeli bill to ‘execute Palestinian hostages’.

"The only hostages are the Israelis killed and still held by Hamas in Gaza. By calling convicted terrorists and detainees ‘hostages,’ the UN’s top official on human rights in Palestine erases Israeli victims and spreads blood libels.”

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