Tel Aviv (UNA/WAFA) – Israeli media reported that the Knesset will present the “Execution of Palestinian Prisoners” bill for a first reading vote today, Monday.
On Monday, the third of this month, the Knesset's "Security" Committee approved the submission of a bill that would allow the execution of prisoners, to a vote before the Knesset's general assembly, in a move that sparked a wide wave of condemnation locally and internationally.
This development comes amid pressure from the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who threatened that his party, Otzma Yehudit, would not vote in favor of the ruling coalition's bills if the death penalty law was not introduced within the next three weeks.
The law is considered part of the agreements that were signed to conclude the coalition government deal headed by Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish Power party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir in late 2022.
The bill to execute prisoners is not new. It has been proposed repeatedly over the past years, most recently in 2022 when the extremist minister Ben-Gvir reintroduced it with a set of amendments, until the Knesset approved it in its preliminary reading in March 2023.
The bill stipulates that "the death penalty shall be imposed on anyone who intentionally or recklessly causes the death of an Israeli citizen out of racist or hateful motives and to harm Israel."
Passing the law in its first reading will allow it to continue to be pushed through in the next Knesset, even if its legislation is not completed during the current session.
Stages of legislation in Israel
The legislation of laws in Israel goes through several stages, beginning with the drafting of a bill proposal by a Knesset member or a government committee, as explained on the Knesset website.
In a meeting held specifically for this purpose, the Knesset Presidency approves the proposed laws that reach it and they are put on the same day on the table of the Knesset General Assembly for approval in the preliminary reading, so that they are discussed and it is decided whether to approve them or not, and then they are passed on to a parliamentary committee that discusses the proposal in order to prepare it for the first reading.
If the proposed laws are submitted by the government and not by a member of the Knesset, as is the case with the death penalty law, or by Knesset committees, they are not subject to preliminary deliberations, and begin from the first reading stage. The proposed laws for the first reading are published in an official bulletin, and then a vote is held to reject the laws or subject them to further discussion.
If the proposal passes the first reading, it is passed to a specialized committee in the Knesset to prepare it for the second and third readings. After the committee finishes its deliberations, the laws are subject to further deliberations in the plenary, and then the second and third readings are voted on.
After the proposal is approved in the three readings, the law becomes part of the State of Israel’s book of laws, and is published in the “Records” after being officially drafted and becomes effective.
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