Israel’s Parliament Approves Laws to Punish Families, Minors Involved in Terrorist Acts

Early Thursday morning the Knesset – Israel’s Parliament – approved two new laws aimed at punishing the families of terrorists as well as minors who commit acts of terror.

These new laws were promoted by members of the right-wing parties in the Knesset. Their passage stands as a much-needed win, of sorts, for Prime Minister Netanyahu as this comes after some setbacks for his government. The other day Netanyahu was forced to remove from the Knesset agenda a law that would guarantee daycare subsidies for the children of ultra-orthodox Israelis, even if their fathers are draft dodgers.

The ultra-orthodox political parties in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition demanded this law be passed because Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the deferments their people enjoyed from military service by studying in yeshivas – Tora academies – were illegal and ordered that these people be drafted. The ultra-orthodox vowed to refuse to answer draft call-ups.

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​The Youth Bill (Adjudication, Punishment and Methods of Treatment) passed the Knesset in a vote of 55 to 33 out of 120 members in the Knesset.

This law allows for a minor who has not yet turned age 14 and has been convicted of an offense of murder as an act of terrorism, or within the activity of a terrorist organization, can be held in a closed residential facility, and the remainder of his sentence will be served in prison starting at age 14.

The second law is called the Deportation of Families of Terrorists Bill, 2024, which passed in a vote of 61 to 41.

This law states that Israel’s Minister of Interior will be entitled to order, after holding a hearing, the deportation of a family member of a terrorist, if he or she knew in advance about their family member’s plan to commit an act of terrorism and did not make” all necessary efforts to prevent it from being committed.”

Alternatively, the Minister of Interior will be entitled to order the deportation of the family member in question if he or she expressed “support or identification with the act of terrorism, or published statements of praise, sympathy, or encouragement for the act of terrorism or for a terrorist organization.”