Khaberni - Published in the Israeli newspapers today, Tuesday, a petition against the proposed law imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners was signed by 1200 people, including former officials, among them judges of the Supreme Court, Nobel laureates, heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet, academics, university presidents, and the Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz and Moshe Ya'alon, and former Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.
The petition stated: "The undersigned strongly oppose the death penalty bill currently under discussion in the Knesset in preparation for the second and third readings, and we call on the Knesset members to reject it."
The petition added that "resuming the use of the death penalty imposes a moral stigma on Israel and contradicts its identity as a Jewish and democratic state. The death penalty is not suitable for a state committed to human rights and to the essence of human beings as created in God's image. The death penalty is an extreme and absolute measure, and its primary justification that it deters murderers is not supported by scientific research."
The petition continued that "over the years and until recently, security authorities have expressed the view that resuming the death penalty does not deter terrorist operations but rather encourages them. Even the inevitability of the death penalty does not allow for correction in case of error, and mistakes do indeed occur, in the procedures resulting in execution, and certainly in security-related matters involving reduced procedural protection. The possibility of executing an innocent person is particularly chilling."
The petition pointed to the proposed law initiated by the National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, which includes extreme and unconventional provisions. "It discriminates between blood and blood, and effectively acknowledges that the penalty will only be imposed on Palestinians who have killed Israelis and not on others who commit similar grave offenses. It also establishes that the death penalty is mandatory for Palestinians tried in military courts in the territories (occupied), through the elimination of weighting the opinion of prosecution and judiciary, robbing any possibility of error or mitigating the sentence."
The petition mentioned that "Israel abolished the death penalty for murderers shortly after the state was established and was a light to the nations in this regard. Since then, all democratic countries in the world have abolished this penalty and opposed it. Reinstating the death penalty would not only be contrary to the clear global trends but also to many obligations of the State of Israel under international law. Approving the law will isolate Israel from the enlightened international community, which has committed to not reinstating this shocking penalty."
