Extremists in Israel demand death penalty for Palestinians

A proposed bill that is being debated in the Knesset has support across political parties. By Mel Frykberg

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Israel's government is pushing for the legal execution of Palestinians convicted of certain crimes despite the country having no death penalty. The proposed bill would not apply to Jewish Israelis convicted of the same crimes.

The bill has been supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during its first reading. Other supporters include Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Defence Minister Israel Katz, former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman and prominent sponsor of the bill Limor Son Har-Melech from the Otzma Yehudit party.

Politicians from Netanyahu's ruling Likud party and others from the Yisrael Beitenu party have also lent their support.

The Knesset, or parliament, is debating the highly controversial bill after it passed its first reading in November last year, Deutsche Welle reported. It still has to pass a second and third reading.

UN experts have urged Israel to withdraw the bill proposing the mandatory death penalty for “terrorist acts”, which they say would violate the right to life and discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“Only Palestinians in the West Bank, not Israeli settlers, are subject to wider criminal liability, military law and military courts, and less due process, and the death penalty in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem applies only to killings of Israeli citizens or residents and under regular Israeli criminal law,” said the experts from the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) in a statement released at the beginning of February.