Led by Ben Gvir.. The Knesset discusses a bill for the execution of prisoners

SadaNews Translation: The National Security Committee in the Knesset held a session this morning, Sunday, to discuss a bill that demands imposing the death penalty on Palestinians who carry out attacks, initiated by the far-right "Otzma Yehudit" party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and warnings from the Coordinator for Prisoners and Missing Persons Gal Hirsch, as reported by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

This discussion comes amid efforts led by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to reach a prisoner exchange deal that would end the war on the Gaza Strip, coinciding with the presence of dozens of Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons and the detention of 48 Israelis in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive.

Brigadier General (Reserve) Gal Hirsch, who serves as the Coordinator for Israeli Prisoners and Missing Persons, expressed his rejection of holding the session at this timing, warning that discussing the law could push Palestinian resistance to take retaliatory actions against Israeli prisoners held in Gaza. Hirsch stated, "I do not represent a personal opinion, but represent a humanitarian cause concerning the families of the abductees."

However, Ben Gvir ignored these warnings, stating that "the answer is no - I am a rabbi," adding that "the warnings about the timing are no longer relevant after October 7, and everything said previously has proven to be baseless."

Ben Gvir: The death penalty deters and accelerates release

Ben Gvir defended the bill, claiming that imposing the death penalty would constitute a "real deterrent" for Palestinian factions and might accelerate the release of Israeli prisoners. He added that "the claim that changing the conditions of Palestinian prisoners would lead to an uprising is no longer convincing."

The bill stipulates the mandatory death penalty for anyone convicted of killing an Israeli for national or racist motives, in circumstances aimed at harming the occupying state. The proposed law suggests that the death sentence be final and cannot be mitigated, even if it is issued by a simple majority within the court.

Yedioth Ahronoth reports: "Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously requested that the law be presented to the Cabinet, the repeated delays have angered Ben Gvir's party, which seeks to reintroduce it on every occasion amid an internal division regarding its security and humanitarian implications."