The Israeli parliament has approved a bill in its first reading that would impose the death penalty on Palestinians who kill Israelis for nationalistic reasons. However, the law would not punish Israelis who kill Palestinians.
This is reported by The Times of Israel.
The law would also allow Israeli military courts in the West Bank to impose death sentences by majority vote, rather than unanimously, and would abolish commutations of those sentences.
The bill from the far-right Jewish Power party was voted in favor by 39 deputies, with 16 voting against. In order for the bill to become law, it must pass two more final readings in parliament.
The vote was ignored by opposition factions — MPs from the Blue and White and Yesh Atid parties did not participate. Within the coalition itself, the Degel Hatora party opposed it, and most MPs from Shas did not show up for the meeting.
After the bill was passed, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir symbolically distributed baklava to lawmakers — it is usually distributed in Palestinian areas after attacks on Israelis.
In the entire history of Israel, the death penalty has only been used twice: in 1948, during the War of Independence, Captain Meir Tuviansky was executed for treason, and in 1962, Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death. Tuviansky was later fully rehabilitated.
- Active hostilities between Israel and Hamas have been ongoing since October 7, 2023. In late May, the US proposed a plan for a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which included the release of 28 Israeli hostages — both dead and alive — in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the transfer of the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.
- On October 8, the US President Donald Trump reported that Israel and Hamas had signed the first phase of his peace plan. The following day, Israel approved the first phase of a peace deal with Hamas to release hostages.
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