Legislation on the death penalty for terrorists should not be advanced at this time because it could jeopardize the lives of the hostages, representatives of the hostages’ families said Monday at a meeting of the Knesset National Security Committee.
“The timing of this risks the lives of our loved ones beyond the existing risk, and it doesn’t even advance any public purpose,” one of the representatives of the hostages said. “The death penalty is a sensitive topic that needs to be debated in closed meetings and in professional forums.”
The representatives asked National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit Party not to advance the legislation.
“The debate on the death penalty for terrorists is a mental terrorist attack, a flammable [issue] that risks the lives of kidnapped children,” said Noam Dan, one of the representatives.
Otzma Yehudit MKs explained why the law was necessary, without addressing the issue of its timing.
No 'mandate on pain'
Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen said the families did not have “a mandate on pain.”
Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech said she had been trying to advance the legislation since her husband was murdered in a terrorist attack 20 years ago.
Other members of the coalition and the opposition said they were against either the law or the timing.Education Minister Yoav Kisch (Likud) said the law would not be passed at the current time.
“The scenes from the Knesset today are unnecessary,” he said. “They harm the war effort and especially the hostages’ families, who are [experiencing] their most difficult hour. Stop engaging in petty politics.”
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) said he has always supported the death penalty for terrorists, but now was not the right time.
“Enough with these politics right now,” he said. “We have to focus only on victory and returning the hostages home.”Coalition chairman Ofir Katz (Likud) said the bill would not be brought to the Knesset plenum to be voted on at this time.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said: “The families of the hostages are crying out their pain and the pain of an entire nation. There is no limit to the obtuseness and lack of shame of the coalition members who preach to the families. What Almog Cohen did today will be remembered forever. He should be ashamed of himself.”