Knesset clashed with captives' families on Palestinian execution bill

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Nov 2023 17:45

The bill discussion in the Knesset witnessed a shouting session between members of the Security Council and families of captives held in Gaza.

One of the relatives of the Israeli captives held in Gaza enraged and shouting at the Knesset's Security Council on Monday, November 20, 2023 (Social media)

In a recent development reported by Israeli media, a heated exchange took place in the Knesset's Security Committee on Monday between the families of captives held by the Resistance in Gaza and the cabinet over a bill that would impose a death sentence on Palestinian prisoners.

This altercation involved representatives from the "Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum" and members of the Knesset from the Otzma Yehudit party, ahead of the legislation draft's first reading.

In a statement, the forum expressed their anger over the Knesset's discussion on the death sentence issue. They believe that holding this discussion at this particular time endangers the lives of the captives beyond the risks they already face, without enhancing any public goal or benefit.

The parliamentary committee session, which began this morning with the participation of members of the prisoners' forum, witnessed a fierce altercation between Knesset member Almog Cohen (of the Otzma Yehudit party, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir) and the captives' families, who carried pictures of the Israelis held in Gaza, asking to postpone the session.

"Now is not the right time to deal with this matter with about 240 Israelis held prisoner in the Gaza Strip," the families warned.

In response to loud objections by the captives' families, Cohen shouted, “You have no monopoly over pain."

Additionally, Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har Melech also yelled at them, “You are silencing other families.”

Israeli politician Almog Cohen became angry with Itamar Ben-Gvir's party and shouted at them that they were fine, let them remain silent, but we buried our friends pic.twitter.com/hOCX3VxQDR
— Sprinter Monitor (@SpriterMonitor1) November 20, 2023

Israeli Channel 13 revealed that the "National Security Council" of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office was scheduled to hold a session concurrently with the Security Committee session. However, officials in the committee decided to postpone the meeting due to concerns about harming the captives in Gaza and other security reasons.

Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kish, in a post on the X platform, said, "The law for executing prisoners will not pass now, this is clear to everyone. The scenes from the Knesset harm the war effort, especially the families and relatives of the prisoners going through the hardest time of their lives. Stop engaging in trivial political matters."

In a statement issued this morning, Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the law for executing Palestinian prisoners "is no longer a matter of right and left but has become a moral and vital law for Israel." He called on cabinet members from all political blocs and streams to support the law, confident that "it will receive overwhelming support from [all] members."

Meanwhile, sharp criticisms were voiced in the Israeli political establishment and among the Israeli public regarding the timing of the debate, also citing concerns that this comes as over 200 captives are still held by the Resistance in Gaza.

Likud member Ofer Katz stated that the death sentence bill would not be brought for voting in the general session before being discussed and approved by the Security Cabinet.

Israeli Minister Miki Zohar commented, "I have always supported the death sentence law, but dealing with it now, with our sons and daughters in the hands of Hamas, is a grave mistake that hurts the families of the prisoners. Enough politics now, we must focus only on winning the war and bringing the prisoners home."

Opposition leader and Knesset member Yair Lapid saw it differently, stating, "The families of the prisoners are screaming in pain. There is no limit to the ambiguity and audacity of the virtual coalition members preaching morals to the families. What Almog Cohen did today will be remembered forever. He should be ashamed of himself."

It should be noted that in March of last year, the Knesset preliminarily approved a bill allowing the imposition of the death sentence on Palestinian prisoners "accused" of killing Israelis. The bill, introduced by Ben-Gvir and supported by Netanyahu, faced significant outrage in Palestine and among members of the Axis of Resistance.

The death sentence law has been proposed several times over the past years in the occupation entity but has been rejected by the Knesset. For the bill to become effective, it must pass three readings in the Knesset, in addition to the preliminary reading.