The Knesset plenum this week gave its final approval to a bill excluding jailed terrorists from appearing before the Israel Prison Service’s parole board after completing at least two-thirds of their sentence.
The bill, sponsored by MKs Oded Forer (Yisrael Beitenu) and Anat Berko (Likud), amends the Anti-Terrorism Law. It was passed by a 27 to 5 majority, and will apply to terrorists convicted in civil and military courts alike. It will also apply retroactively to terrorists who have already been convicted of murder or attempted murder.
Following the vote, MK Forer said, “I am happy that moments before the Knesset is dissolved, at the 11th hour, we succeeded in doing justice to all those families who lost their loved ones in terrorist attacks. The very fact that terrorists, murderers of Israelis, can be released before their sentence ends, does not add to the already difficult feelings of the bereaved families. In addition, we place here another important brick in the wall of the fight against terror and in the enhancement of deterrence so that every terrorist will know that early release cannot be part of his hopes.”
“A terrorist who comes to carry out an attack does not act against the individual victim, but against all of society, with a deep ideology against the State of Israel, and as such he must serve his full punishment, because obviously he has no chance of rehabilitation, certainly not when he becomes a hero in the eyes of those who sent him,” Forer added. “Just before the Knesset was dissolved, we made sure that terrorists could not get a third of their sentence cut. We increased deterrence and prevented the shame of the early release of terrorists.”
MK Berko said the bill applies to people who seek to “destroy the State,” adding that the bill’s main purpose is increasing deterrence. “They have destroyed the lives of many families, and, to them, all the citizens of Israel are targets.”
The explanatory notes attached to the bill state that “The terror wave that began in September 2015 and still continues requires us to strengthen our deterrence with regard to terror operatives. There is no doubt that denying the option of a shortened sentence will create more significant and effective deterrence than the current situation, in which abettors of terror and terrorists who murdered Jews can be released from prison without completing their full sentence. Therefore, it is proposed that those convicted of terror or security offenses will not be eligible for parole or a deduction of a third of their sentence.”
Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg called the law “a victory for Justice and sanity.”
“It is a shame that we are in a situation in which a law is needed to prevent terrorists from receiving early parole,” Peleg said. “We need to continue promoting a strong deterrence package against terrorism that will prevent the next attack from occurring.”