Israel Moves Forward on Death Penalty Bill

Following a green-light from Prime Minister Netanyahu, it’s possible Israel might at last have a mechanism for putting terrorists to death. The bill in question was introduced last year by the party headed by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and has now been approved for members of Netanyahu’s party. The widely-held perception is that Israel does not have a death penalty is the result of the law – which requires a judicial panel of three judges issuing a unanimous decision – being applied only once: executing senior Nazi Adolph Eichman. The new law, which removes the need for the 3-judge panel to be unanimous, will allow for both civilian and military courts to impose death sentences on Palestinian terrorists convicted of murder.