Proposed legislation submitted to the Knesset Dec. 27 by Yisrael Beitenu, the party of Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, would impose the death penalty for people convicted of terrorism. All six parties in the governing coalition — including center-right Kulanu, headed by Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, which in the past had expressed reservations about similar proposals — have announced their support. The Knesset is thus likely to adopt the bill within several weeks, defying the objections of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
Israeli law allows military tribunals to impose the death penalty in the case of a unanimous verdict. (Such a decision has never been made.) Liberman’s draft law stipulates that a simple majority of judges would suffice, and civil courts would also be authorized to sentence to death those convicted of terrorist attacks in Israel.
