Israel’s Attorney General and Secret Service came out in opposition to a new bill that has passed its first reading in the Knesset on Wednesday morning. The bill proposes to punish terrorists, both Arab and Jewish with the death penalty for carrying out terror attacks that result in the death of their victims.
In the Knesset, the hotly debated bill passed with 52 MKs voting in favor of it and 49 MKs voting against it. MK and Deputy Speaker of the House Ahmed Tibi (Joint Arab List) asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prior to the vote if the Prime Minister would be in favor of applying the bill to the Jews convicted of arrying out the Duma arson attack. Prime Minister Netanyahu replied that in principle he would be.
During Knesset deliberations, the heads of every Israeli security situation voiced their unanimous opinion against the death penalty being implemented. Among them were the heads of the ISS, the GHQ, the police commissioner and the IDF Chief of staff. The ISS said that they were against the bill because it would not prevent suicide attackers or lone wolf attackers who are prepared to give up their lives to carry out the attacks regardless of the bill. They also felt that this bill would lead to more attempted kidnappings of Jews so that the culprits wouldn’t be performing terror attacks per se, and therefore not qualify for the death penalty.
According to the Attorney General, this bill does not coincide with the country’s expressed opinion regarding the death penalty in international forums. It would also bring a harsh and unnecessary international reaction.
Numerous members of bereaved families spoke in favor of the bill. Michal Suleiman, whose family was murdered in the Halamish terror attack said: “As one who has experienced this terror on her flesh first hand, I believe that the death penalty is the appropriate punishment for a terrorist who has taken a human life. The desire for this does not come from a sense of revenge on my part, but rather from the need to implement an effective deterrent and prevent the next murder. No punishment will ever return my loved ones, but others can be saved.”
Numerous other bereaved family members of terror victims shared in Suleiman’s message and the bill did pass its first reading. It will now be sent to committee for edits and then brought back to the Knesset for second and third readings before it can be passed into law.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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The death penalty does not deter men who believe that 72 virgins are waiting for them in the next world. And Israel needs an inventory of trade bait if Israelis are kidnapped or captured by Palestinians or other enemies of Israel.
The ISS said that they were against the bill because it would not prevent suicide attackers or lone wolf attackers who are prepared to give up their lives to carry out the attacks regardless of the bill.
Even assuming this is true they should still receive their well deserved punishment.
They also felt that this bill would lead to more attempted kidnappings of Jews so that the culprits wouldn’t be performing terror attacks per se, and therefore not qualify for the death penalty.
Huh? Didn’t they just tell us that the terrorists aren’t scared of the death penalty?
If terrorist were given the death penalty there would be much LESS of an incentive to kidnap Yiden because there would be less terrorists to ransom them for.
One prefers that a terrorist will surrender rather than fight to the death and try to take as many people with them. It is no surprise that the ISS (Shin Bet, secret police, whatever) which actually fights terrorists prefers that they throw down their guns and surrender rather than go out “in a blaze of glory” by taking out some of the people trying to capture them.