ISRAEL: NETANYAHU BLOCKS DEATH PENALTY FOR MASS MURDERING TERRORISTS

July 12, 2015: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has blocked, at least temporarily, a bill which would require judges to impose the death penalty on convicted terrorist murderers.
That move provoked anger from the bill’s sponsor, Yisrael Beytenu MK Sharon Gal, who accused the prime minister of not being serious about fighting terrorism.
The proposed law is fiercely opposed by some MKs – primarily, though not exclusively from the Left – who oppose the death penalty in principle and have argued that it would simply turn terrorists killers into “martyrs.”
But it is backed by many MKs on the Right, who see it as a powerful deterrent tool and a fitting punishment for ideological murderers who will never be rehabilitated.
Terror victims and victims’ rights activists also widely support the proposal, saying it prevents the most heinous of killers from ever being released in controversial “prisoner swap” deals. (Sources: israelnationalnews.com, 12/07/2015)