Israel: Approval on First Reading of Law to Execute Palestinian Prisoners

SadaNews - The National Security Committee in the Knesset approved, today Sunday, a bill that imposes the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners, as a precursor to presenting it to the general assembly for a first reading, despite opposition from the Coordinator for Prisoners and Missing Persons in the Prime Minister's Office, Gal Hirsch, and other professional entities.

The Israeli parliamentary committee for national security held a session to discuss the bill, despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hirsch's efforts to cancel the discussions, opting to present it within the smaller ministerial council (the Cabinet).

Four committee members voted in favor of the bill compared to one against it, despite objections from the committee's legal advisor who emphasized that voting could not take place during the Knesset's recess, while opposition forces attacked the step and deemed it "illegal".

The legal section of the committee warned that voting on the death penalty bill for prisoners is "void," explaining that both the committee's legal advisor and the Knesset's legal advisor agreed that voting should not occur during the Knesset's recess, and that committee members should hear the positions of the security and professional bodies before voting—conditions that were not met.

The committee chair, Tzvika Fogal (Otzma Yehudit), confirmed that the Knesset's legal advisor asked him not to conduct the vote, adding: "I said I would consider it, and today I understand more than ever that I am obliged to vote."