00:10International backlash is mounting over Israel's approval of legislation mandating the death
00:16penalty for West Bank Palestinians who were convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks.
00:21The passage of the bill Monday marked the culmination of a years-long drive by the far
00:26right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offences against
00:32Israelis. Aside from rights groups, the law is attracting criticism internationally.
00:37Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called it one step closer to apartheid and the European
00:44Union said it was a clear step backwards. Charlotte Hughes has more on the law.
00:51It's a move that prompted applause from some in the Knesset, but one that has also drawn
00:55international criticism. On Monday, Israel's parliament approved legislation that would
01:01make the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts
01:05of deadly attacks. Far-right lawmaker Limor Son-Homele, who survived an attack by Palestinian gunmen
01:11in which her husband was killed, hailed the bill.
01:17This law is the most moral expression of a nation that wants life. It establishes a direct and
01:23clear equation. Whoever decides to murder Jews, just because they are Jews, is doomed to die.
01:33The bill includes provisions requiring an execution by hanging within 90 days of sentencing,
01:38with a possible delay of up to 180 days.
01:42In theory, Jewish Israelis could also be sentenced to death under the law.
01:47However, this would be extremely unlikely due to its wording, since it states that the sentence
01:52should be carried out when the intention of the attack is to, quote, negate the existence
01:56of the state of Israel.
01:58Several European countries, including the UK, France and Germany, have warned it risks undermining,
02:04quote, democratic principles.
02:06Opposition lawmaker Yair Lapid is also among those who have denounced the law.
02:12We are not like Hamas. We are the opposite of Hamas. We did not come to the Middle East to
02:21adopt Sharia law. We did not establish a Jewish state to adopt the moral standards of radical Islam.
02:31The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has lodged an appeal against the legislation with
02:37Israel's Supreme Court.
02:40For more analysis on this story, we can welcome Bensi Sikora, policy director at the Zulat Institute
02:47for Equality and Human Rights. Thank you very much for your time with us on France 24. I'd like to
02:53start by asking what your reaction is to the passing of this law.
03:00It's heartbreaking. It's one of the saddest days I think I've experienced in a long time and it's
03:05been a rough few years here. The bill that passed is one of the single worst pieces of legislation
03:10that's ever passed through Israeli parliament because, as you explained, it's just so blatantly
03:15racist. But we're also not giving up hope. We're already in the process. You mentioned there's
03:20already been an appeal that's been submitted to the Supreme Court. We're in the process of
03:23submitting our own appeal. And Israeli society has proven that it's willing to fight for the court.
03:29It's maintained the courts. It's fought to keep the courts alive and the judicial system alive,
03:33and we're going to stop the law from taking hold. We're confident that the Supreme Court will shoot
03:41this down because, like we said, it's so blatantly unconstitutional.
03:44So then, given that, given the likelihood that the Supreme Court will strike it down,
03:48why do you think that this law has passed now and what do you think the goal is behind this
03:53legislation?
03:56This bill has been floated around on the fringes of the populist far-right,
04:01led by the blatant racist Itamar Ben-Gvir for many, many years. It's never really gotten traction.
04:06They saw political opportunity following October 7th, following the 900 days of war. Since then,
04:13Israeli society is exhausted and deeply, deeply traumatized, and they saw an opportunity to pass
04:18it. But it's an attempt for them to advance their disgusting political ideology. And he sort of wins
04:24either way, right? Either he's able to pass and advance his despicable ideology, or it gets shot
04:29down and they get to attack the Supreme Court again. So for him, this is purely politics. We
04:33even know from speaking to other members in the coalition leading up to the bill that they were
04:37ashamed of having to vote for this. They don't support it. They're hoping the bill gets shot down.
04:42But it's a cheap political ploy driven by a small minority within this country that's taken our
04:48entire political system hijacked and hijacked it. But it doesn't represent the majority of the
04:53Knesset of the majority of the country. And they're aiming for cheap political points.
04:58But we're doing everything we can, and we're confident that it's not going to remain.
05:02On what grounds might the Supreme Court strike it down?
05:08Again, like we said, it's so blatantly unconstitutional. You mentioned it before.
05:11The fact that it's de facto, what it does is it differentiates between Arab and Jewish terrorists.
05:15And again, we obviously are against the death penalty categorically. We believe that it's inherently
05:20immoral. But even if you disagree on that, the fact that it differentiates by blood is just,
05:23it's not something that any democratic country can accept. And Israel still remains a democracy,
05:27despite the best efforts of members of Knesset like Itamar Ben-Gvir. So it just, it doesn't hold
05:33up to Israel's constitutional values. It also, additionally, it tries to legislate within the
05:37West Bank, which again, is not under Israeli sovereignty as much as he may, as much as Itamar Ben-Gvir
05:43may like it to be that way. So they don't have the jurisdiction there. So it's just,
05:47it's going to fall on so many different, um, different issues. Also, like you mentioned,
05:51the 90 days, uh, to the 90 days, um, that it has to be, uh, uh, acted upon. And the
05:58fact that
05:58there's such a narrow, uh, clemency, uh, options just means that it doesn't hold up to the stat,
06:04the status and the standards that we have in Israel. You referred to this, uh, earlier on,
06:10the Israeli government has been trying to reform the judiciary for the past several years. Um,
06:15um, and the Supreme Court is seen as kind of the cornerstone of Israeli democracy. And so you said
06:20that if this bill, uh, is struck down, we can expect accusations of bias, uh, from the government,
06:26but is that all?
06:29Um, we're, look, we're heading into an election year. We know that there,
06:34we've seen it in other backsliding democracies, uh, as well, that they're going to probably try to ramp up
06:39their attacks. As of this, as of now, they've sort of drawn a line in the sand and they haven't
06:44yet been willing to take us into a full constitutional crisis, but we're laying the
06:48groundwork and we're preparing for that option as well. Uh, we're aware that, uh, Netanyahu is
06:52desperate to hold onto power and they will do anything they can to stay in control. Um, but we're,
06:57we're weighing the groundwork and we're very well prepared and we're going to stop them. Uh,
07:00we're gonna do everything we can to stop them from trying to cross that line.
07:03You said that this law doesn't reflect the wider sentiment among the population. You did say,
07:11of course, Israelis are traumatized and exhausted after, um, the Hamas attacks and the war with
07:17Gaza. What is, uh, the sentiment in among Israelis? Well, it's been honestly rather muted. Like, um,
07:26I've been, I've been me and other members of civil society been participants, uh, with it throughout
07:32the committee discussions, uh, on the bill, uh, until recently the last couple of weeks when the
07:37war started and we weren't unable to, and they cynically used the war to advance the legislation
07:41while we could not participate. Uh, but we were there and it's not something that has been had
07:45widespread support from the public or even from other members of the coalition. This is a,
07:49this is a passion project of Ben Gvir and his Kahanist Jewish supremacist party. They're the only
07:54ones pushing for this aggressively. Um, and it's, you know, their polls show different things,
08:00but it's not been at the top of the agenda for most Israelis. Most Israelis, I think are
08:03mostly just disgusted that this is what our government is doing while we're at war and
08:07we're just trying to survive the day, you know? Do you think that this law could fuel retaliation
08:12and escalate violence? It's, uh, one of the reasons that we objected to it among many, um,
08:19when we were sitting in every, almost, uh, every single, um, professionals from the different
08:25ministries who participated, be the, the, uh, security apparatus or be it from the, uh,
08:29ministry of justice, they all expressed their concerns with the bill stating among other
08:34things that it could lead to retaliations that they does. It's not been proven effective,
08:37uh, worldwide. And the Shin Bet Israel security apparatus has, uh, historically rejected this
08:42idea, this legislation, because they said it could actually have the reverse, uh, result and end up,
08:46uh, leading to, uh, attempted kidnappings, um, as a, as a tool of retaliation or as a tool of
08:52negotiation against, uh, against, uh, upcoming capital punishments. Uh, so that's one among
08:58many, many reasons that we, uh, object to this legislation. Yeah. Right. And of course,
09:02now the Supreme Court, uh, will decide, uh, whether or not it, uh, hears, uh, these petitions to have
09:08this thrown out. Uh, Bensi Sakura, policy director at the Zulad Institute for Equality and Human Rights.
09:14Thank you very much for your time.
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