The terror wave that has engulfed Israel in recent weeks has sparked another round of nationwide debate on whether the de-facto ban on the death penalty should be lifted as a way to deter potential terrorists.
While capital punishment is legal in Israel, it has so far only been handed out for crimes committed during World War II, being imposed twice, against a convicted Nazi official and a convicted Nazi soldier.
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Terrorists from Elad attack taken to the scene of the crime to re-enact the stabbing spree
(Photo: Israel Police)
"Of course I think that [the] death penalty is the solution, because in the last few weeks, 18 Israelis were murdered,” said Hananya Naftali shortly after the capture of the two terrorists who went on a deadly axe rampage in the city of Elad.
“Let’s face it, we live next to radical neighbors that want to see our blood, not our smiles. They want to see our funerals, not our weddings.”
Joel Schalit, editor-in-chief of news startup The Battleground, disagreed with sentencing terrorists to death on the grounds that captured operatives are useful intelligence resources to prevent future attacks. “I think that captured terrorists are a lifelong intelligence opportunity for security services to exploit, and that provides more protection for Israelis."
Iranian writer Ramin Parham, meanwhile, explained that though Israel’s security establishment is effective when it comes to capturing terrorists, it has repeatedly failed to address the source of the issue, which he says stems from the regional absence of functioning states.
“Have you been able to root out the problem [of terrorism]? No. We have to look at where the root cause is,” Parham said.
Republished with permission from i24NEWS