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Israel: Ben-Gvir to propose law allowing death penalty for ‘terrorists’ 

January 29, 2023 at 1:06 pm

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on January 24, 2023 [Saeed Qaq/Anadolu Agency]

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has announced plans to introduce legislation allowing the death penalty against “terrorists”, in a move which many believe is aimed at Palestinians who stand up to the illegal occupation of their land.

According to the Times of Israel, the far-right politician made the announcement following a security cabinet meeting held late on Saturday night after an attack was carried out in the illegal settlement of Neve Ya’akov in which killing seven settlers were killed and three wounded. The attack has been described as the deadliest against Israelis in over a decade. The incident came a day after the deadliest Israeli military raid in the West Bank in years, which left at least nine Palestinians killed and 20 others wounded.

“I hope we will pass it with a big majority,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement, adding that the security cabinet’s newly announced measures are “important”. He also said he wanted “a lot more and I will continue and will strive for more and more decisions for combating terror.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said the security cabinet had decided on a series of steps to “combat terror and exact a price from terrorists and their supporters”. Without providing further details, he added that steps will be taken to “strengthen settlements” in response to the attacks.

In November , Ben-Gvir made the introduction of capital punishment against Palestinians found guilty of killing Israelis a condition for his faction to join Netanyahu’s coalition government. Currently the death penalty is not practised in Israel. Since the state’s founding in 1948, there has only been one execution, which occurred in 1962.

READ: EU urges Israel-Palestine to defuse tensions, says lethal force should be ‘last resort’