A draft law proposing the execution of Palestinian prisoners ignites controversy in the Knesset… What is the connection to those detained by Hamas?
The Israeli Forum for Prisoners and Missing Persons in Gaza opposed the discussion of the “Execution of Palestinian Prisoners” bill during a special session held by a parliamentary committee affiliated with the Knesset yesterday. This is in preparation for presenting the law for a first reading vote in the general assembly, considering that the discussion puts the lives of their relatives at risk, as reported by Russia Today.
A heated verbal altercation occurred between Knesset member Almog Cohen, affiliated with the Jewish Otzma Yehudit party led by Itamar Ben Gvir, and the families of the detainees in Gaza during the session. In a statement issued yesterday morning, Itamar Ben Gvir said, ‘The law to execute Palestinian prisoners is no longer a matter of right and left; it has become an ethical and vital law for Israel.’
Knesset members from all political blocs were urged to support the law, with Ben Gvir considering that ‘he is confident that the law will receive overwhelming support from Knesset members.’
Moreover, an intense debate took place in the Israeli Knesset after Itamar Ben Gvir proposed the law to execute Palestinian prisoners arrested on charges of ‘supporting Hamas‘ or participating in events on October 7 last year.
Israeli hostages’ families participated in the discussion, and the Knesset stated in a release that it ‘quickly turned into a noisy session,’ adding that representatives of the families of the detainees and the missing called for not proceeding with the law. The families’ representatives accused Itamar Ben Gvir of wanting to gain party political benefits at the expense of the issue and the lives of their relatives detained by Hamas.
One of them attacked Itamar Ben Gvir, saying, ‘The State of Israel was established so that they would not come at night and kidnap Jews from their beds. You pressured, requested, and assisted in killing Arabs, and the result is that they came to us while we are in bed. We are the Jews.’
Following this debate, families and representatives of the detainees left the session in protest. Itamar Ben Gvir later posted a picture on the (x) platform of himself embracing a relative of the hostages, writing: ‘We love and embrace the families of the kidnapped.’ According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, the man embraced by Itamar Ben Gvir is named Gail Dickman, who told the Israeli minister, ‘Get your hands off me. I told you not to hug me, and yet you hugged me, all for the sake of taking a picture. You have no limits; everyone sees that you are staging a play on the blood of our families.’
