Israel Heads Toward Instituting Capital Punishment

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Throughout its deplorable history, it's always unofficially existed against Palestinians - by naked aggression, targeted assassinations, and soldiers permitted to shoot to kill, taking full advantage ruthlessly.

In a preliminary Wednesday vote, a Knesset majority approved capital punishment, letting military courts sentence any Palestinian Israel calls a "terrorist" to death - the bill applying to Palestinians defending their historic homeland, wanting occupation harshness ended, resisting Israeli tyranny, Jews exempt from the measure.

The law could give military judges broad sentencing latitude. Legislation requires three readings for enactment. Amendments could change the measure's initial draft text.

Israel's Shin Bet security service opposes the bill, fearing it could trigger a wave of kidnappings and other hostile acts against Jews abroad.

Netanyahu supports it, uncaring about Palestinian rights and welfare. His ruthless policies terrorize them.

Israel heads toward amending its Penal Code to legalize capital punishment. The draft measure states:

"(T)he Minister of Defense orders the commander of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the division to give orders to the Military Court in the division to have the power to sentence death penalty without requiring the consensus of the Military Court, but only the ordinary majority," 

"No other court in the division has the right to commute a final death sentence issued by the military court in the division."

Justifying the unjustifiable, the measure claims "(r)eleasing terrorists following a period of their imprisonment (in reference to prisoner exchange deals with the Palestinian armed groups) due to carrying out terrible operations sends a reverse message that does not contribute to fighting terrorism and strengthening the Israeli deterrence capability." 

"The bill aims at creating a meaningful deterrence and showing Israel is tightening up its policies and no longer tolerates such crimes."

Fact: Israel alone is responsible for ruthless state terrorism against millions of defenseless Palestinians - killing and brutalizing them unaccountably, blaming victims for its high crimes.

If enacted, the death penalty law will legalize targeted assassinations and other extrajudicial executions, perhaps enforcing greater harshness on Palestinians than already.

Throughout its deplorable history, countless thousands of Palestinians were killed in cold blood by Israeli soldiers, police and other security forces, acting with impunity.

Abu Thurayah was a recent high-profile example, a double-amputee from Israeli terror-bombing in 2008, murdered in cold blood by an Israeli sniper along the Gaza border last month.

In March 2016, Abed al-Fattah was assassinated by live fire to his head while lying motionless on the ground wounded.

In all Israeli wars of aggression, civilians threatening no one are considered legitimate targets.

Israel is a Ziofascist police state, an apartheid regime far worse than South Africa's, a lawless nation contemptuous of fundamental rule of law principles and human rights, a ruthless fantasy democracy.

Legitimizing capital punishment promises greater harshness against Palestinians ahead - viciously persecuted by a racist rogue state for 70 years.

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