The Knesset National Security Committee approved the outline of a bill to legislate the death penalty for terrorists in a vote late on Tuesday evening, ahead of its final second and third readings in the plenum.
The committee has been holding marathon discussions on the bill, which have continued amid the war. Opposition lawmakers have sharply criticized the coalition for advancing controversial legislation unrelated to the war during Operation Roaring Lion.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir vowed that the death penalty bill, initiated by his right-wing Otzma Yehudit party, would pass while attending a heated discussion on the legislation on Tuesday afternoon.
“This law will pass, and your [terrorist] friends will be killed,” Ben-Gvir told MK Yasmin Fridman (Yesh Atid), after she called him a populist and criticized him, leading to a clash between the two.
Israel’s death penalty bill for terrorists nears final vote
According to reports, the bill is expected to be brought for its final readings in the plenum already next week before the Knesset enters recess on Tuesday, which will last until May.
When asked by The Jerusalem Post when the final plenum vote was expected, an Otzma Yehudit spokesperson said that the immediate focus is on securing committee approval before proceeding further.
The legislation has undergone several changes in recent weeks to soften some of its technical aspects, following criticism that certain provisions were too harsh or unrealistic.
In January, it was determined that hanging would be the method of execution under the bill, replacing the initially proposed method of lethal injection.
The bill passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum in November. The second and third readings will determine if it becomes a law.
Ben-Gvir has pushed for the legislation since the start of his tenure as national security minister, repeatedly stating that its passage was a condition of Otzma Yehudit’s coalition agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Otzma Yehudit argues that the death penalty would serve as a deterrent, and it could reduce motivation for terror attacks and kidnappings aimed at securing prisoner exchanges. Ben-Gvir has also said that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) supports the bill’s outline.
MK Gilad Kariv (The Democrats), a leading critic of the bill, has questioned the Shin Bet’s support. Kariv has also repeatedly accused Ben-Gvir of advancing the bill for political reasons ahead of elections.
“The Shin Bet, the National Security Council, the IDF, the Foreign Ministry, the Justice Ministry, and the Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs oppose the current version of the bill, which clashes with international law, endangers relations with European Union countries, and exposes IDF soldiers and officers in Judea and Samaria to sanctions,” Kariv stated on Tuesday after participating in a committee meeting and clashing with Ben-Gvir earlier in the day.
Representatives from several Jewish human rights organizations have also attended multiple committee discussions, with some voicing opposition to the bill on ethical grounds.