On June 19, the new chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ze’ev Elkin, tabled a proposed bill enabling the re-jailing of terrorists freed in diplomatic deals. It was six days after the three youths were kidnapped and public sentiment was ripe. According to the proposal, freed inmates can be sent back to jail if they violate the terms of their release or if the government adopts a decision invalidating the prisoner release.

The purpose of the bill, as defined by Elkin in his press release, is to “wipe out the phenomenon of kidnapping civilians and soldiers for the purpose of obtaining some type of terrorist release deal.”

The bill presented by Elkin, who represents the hard-core right wing in the Likud Party, is the latest in a series of proposed legislation drafted in recent months by Knesset members on the right. The wave of these types of bills was generated by the renewed negotiations with the Palestinians, which have since collapsed, and the objection of these lawmakers to the release of Palestinian prisoners in a framework of goodwill gestures that enabled renewal of the talks.

Among the proposed bills drafted and marketed with great fanfare one can list the proposal by Knesset member Ayelet Shaked to ban the release of terrorists jailed for murder, which was approved in a preliminary Knesset vote at the beginning of June. One can also list two additional proposals, initiated by Knesset member Miri Regev of the radical right-wing arm of the Likud, which are also designed to limit government maneuvering in diplomatic negotiations: one calling for annexation of the Jordan Valley and the other stipulating that the government cannot start negotiations over the status of Jerusalem or the Palestinian refugee issue without Knesset approval. Members of Knesset and ministers from the right supported the draft bills, which embarrassed the prime minister when they were announced and caused Israel significant damage in the diplomatic arena.