Israeli Shin Bet and Army Chiefs Support Death Penalty Law for Prisoners

Translation by SadaNews - Channel 12 Hebrew revealed early Friday that the head of the Israeli Security Agency "Shin Bet" David Zini, as well as the Chief of Staff of the army, Eyal Zamir, support the death penalty law for Palestinian prisoners.

According to the Hebrew channel, as translated by SadaNews, this came during a session of the security cabinet held last night, part of which concerned the death penalty after it was proposed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who described it as an important historical law that would bring deterrence and prevent future abductions.

Minister Dudu Amazal posed a question to the head of Shin Bet about whether this would increase deterrence, to which Zini replied, "Yes, a tool like this is extremely deterrent, without my intervening in any political or legal considerations, but this is a deterrent punishment."

Amazal asked him again, does this mean that no Jews will be abducted because of the law? Zini responded: "One cannot be certain; the discussion is important, and such a law will bring deterrence."

Meanwhile, the representative of the Israeli Army regarding the position of Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stated that according to his opinion, there is no objection to the death penalty law for "terrorists"; this is our stance, and it is the opinion of the Chief of Staff.

He stated: "The army supports introducing discretion and not making the punishment mandatory."

Ben Gvir responded, saying the punishment should be mandatory due to the legal advisor and the public prosecution, as they would never request the death penalty, confirming that he does not trust them.

Minister Gila Gamaliel questioned whether the law specifies the execution of Jews, to which Ben Gvir replied: "Anyone who acts against the Jewish people will be executed"; meanwhile, Bezalel Smotrich stated: "Yes, any Jew who operates in favor of Iran and commits murders against the State of Israel can be executed."