The United States refrained from condemning the Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill, which was approved in the Knesset on Monday.
“The United States respects Israel’s sovereign right to determine its own laws and penalties for individuals convicted of terrorism," said a State Department spokesperson in a statement.
“We trust that any such measures will be carried out with a fair trial and respect for all applicable fair trial guarantees and protections," the spokesperson added.
The new legislation seeks to transform the death penalty from a theoretical option into an applied punishment tool, while creating a distinction between regions.
In Judea and Samaria, the death penalty will be the "default" for murder offenses under terrorist circumstances. Unanimous consent of the judges will not be required (unlike the current situation), and there will be no possibility of pardon or commutation of the sentence by the commander-in-chief.
Within the Green Line, the court can only impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on someone who intentionally causes the death of a person with the aim of harming the state.
The law was criticized even before the votes in its second and third readings. Earlier on Monday, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom called the law "inhumane" and "degrading"
Last week, the European Union (EU) criticized the Israeli government for advancing the bill, saying it “is deeply concerning" and adding that the EU “opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances."
In response, Israel’s Foreign Ministry noted that the EU is intervening in a sovereign country’s legislative process.
“Israel, as a sovereign state, legislates its own laws. Unbelievably, the European Union is intervening in the midst of a sovereign state’s legislative process," the ministry said.
“Israel is facing murderous and brutal terrorism on a scale unmatched anywhere in the world. Palestinian terrorism is fueled by payments from the Palestinian Authority, as well as by abductions that lead to shortened prison terms for terrorists," it continued.
The statement noted that “Israeli law already permits capital punishment, and under the proposed new law, discretion over its application will remain with the courts."
“EU double standards: as always, the EU obsessively singles out Israel - we haven’t seen a tweet like this when it comes to capital punishment in the United States, Japan, India, Egypt, or other countries," the Foreign Ministry concluded.
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