The Knesset’s National Security Committee on Monday gave its approval for the bill on the death penalty for terrorists, proposed by Otzma Yehudit, to be brought before the plenum for its first reading.
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, the coordinator for the hostages in the Prime Minister’s Office, told the panel that the bill has received backing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Representing the PMO’s stance, Hirsch strongly opposed advancing the bill during the law's last discussion in September. He had said that the legislation could harm negotiations with Hamas to reach a deal to return the living hostages held in captivity in Gaza at the time.
As no living hostages in Gaza, opposition to death penalty bill drops critiques
However, Hirsch told the panel on Monday, “We are in a different reality now; the objection I had in the previous discussion is no longer relevant.”
“I spoke with the prime minister, and he also supports the proposed law. This is another tool in the fight against terrorism,” he said. “In the previous discussion, I opposed holding the debate itself due to the danger it posed to the lives of the hostages.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the chair of Otzma Yehudit, attended the discussion.
The bill is expected to be brought to a first reading vote in the Knesset’s plenum as early as Wednesday, Ben-Gvir said at a press conference following the meeting.
It will then return to the committee for revision. The proposed bill must pass a second and third reading in the plenum to become law.
Following the vote to advance the bill, Ben-Gvir said, “I thank the prime minister for his support of Otzma Yehudit’s death penalty for terrorists bill. The court must not have any discretion; every terrorist who goes out to murder must know that only the death penalty will be imposed on him. It’s time for justice.”
“Whoever murdered, raped, and kidnapped our children is not entitled to see the light of day, and their sentence should be death,” Ben-Gvir said.
The national security minister added that the law would improve Israel’s security, as it would be “instilled” in terrorists’ hearts. “This is how we fight terror; this is how we create deterrence.”
According to the proposed bill, “Whoever murdered an Israeli civilian out of racism or hostility toward the public, to harm the State of Israel and the restoration of the Jewish people in their land, shall be sentenced to no other punishment but death.”
The bill would also change the law so that a military court could impose the death penalty through a majority of judges.
Hamas condemned the Knesset committee’s approval of the bill, calling for “the UN, the international community, and relevant rights groups to take urgent action to halt this brutal crime.”
The terrorist group also called to “inspect the conditions of Palestinian prisoners, and expose the atrocities committed there under the official supervision of the occupation authorities.”
The Choosing Life Forum – Bereaved Families Against Terrorists welcomed the bill, saying there was an urgent need to pass it and that it was a central part of the legislation to combat terrorism.
MK Gilad Kariv (the Democrats) objected to the bill during the committee meeting.
After the vote on the bill, Kariv said, “The death penalty for terrorists bill is a populist and extreme law that will not lead to the eradication of murderous terrorists, but rather to the escalation of terrorism.”
“Netanyahu’s attempt to ingratiate himself with Ben-Gvir after the completion of the hostage deal is a transparent move that once again proves that political considerations outweigh security ones,” he added.
Two weeks ago, Ben-Gvir gave a three-week deadline before he said his right-wing party would suspend its participation in coalition votes unless a bill to impose the death penalty on terrorists would be brought to the Knesset’s plenum for a vote.
The national security minister said that three years ago, ahead of the war, his party had made a coalition agreement with the Likud, led by Netanyahu, which stipulated that the bill to impose the death sentence on terrorists would be advanced.