The Israeli parliament on Wednesday introduced a bill that provides for the death penalty for terrorists. 55 of the 120 MPs voted in favor of the draft submitted by MP Limor Son Bar-Melech of the far-right coalition party Ozma Yehudit. Nine MPs voted against, the rest were absent or abstained.
Bar-Melech’s husband was killed in a Palestinian attack in 2003 and she herself – then heavily pregnant – was seriously injured. Three more readings are needed before the law takes effect. Similar moves for a death penalty for terrorists had failed in the past.
Who should receive the death penalty in the future?
Under the draft, the death penalty should be imposed on “anyone who, intentionally or out of indifference, causes the death of an Israeli citizen when the act is motivated by racism or out of hostility towards a particular population group” – with the aim of “causing harm to the State of Israel or the rebirth of the Jewish people in their homeland.” In the occupied West Bank, military courts will be empowered to pass death sentences by simple majority.
Attorney General criticizes project
Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara spoke out against the new law. It is illegal and the death penalty is not an effective deterrent. “There are concerns that the punishment is irreversible.”
The death penalty for murder was abolished in Israel in 1954
Israel abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954. Under Israeli law, the death penalty could still be imposed in certain cases, for example against Nazi criminals or in cases of wartime treason. The execution of German Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962 was the last time a death sentence handed down by a regular court in Israel was actually carried out. Israeli officer Meir Tobianski had already been shot in 1948 after being quickly convicted of treason by a court-martial. He was later proven innocent and was acquitted posthumously.
Source: Krone
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