Israeli parliament approves contentious anti-terror bill

The Israeli parliament approved on Wednesday a controversial anti-terror bill which aims to increase penalties on terror-related moves and qualify more activities as part of its definition of terrorism.

The bill, which has been under discussion by the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee since 2010, was recently adopted and advanced by Israel's Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked from the ultranationalist Jewish Home right-wing party.

Fifty-seven lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, while 16 lawmakers objected to it.

The promotion of the bill in recent months came amid a wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, which started in October, claiming the lives of 32 Israelis and 205 Palestinians since.

The bill extends the state and its security authorities' powers against potential terror suspects and expands the definition of what qualifies as terrorist-related activities.

According to the new law, those convicted of carrying out terrorist acts could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison. People convicted of aiding attackers by giving them a ride for example, could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, and a person who did not prevent an attack from taking place while having knowledge of it could be sent to three years in prison.

Those who will express public identification with a terrorist organization could be jailed to up to three years.

Administrative detentions, a controversial measure used by Israeli security forces allowing them to hold security suspects to renewable terms of six periods without pressing charges against them, are also incorporated into the bill.

The measure in use is a legacy from the Emergency Measures Act of the British Mandate from 1945, three years prior to the establishment of the state of Israel.

Minister Shaked told lawmakers at the plenum after the approval that "only with proper punishment and deterrence" terror could be beaten.

On the other hand, lawmaker Issawi Freige from the left-wing Meretz party said in March, when the bill was discussed at the Knesset committee, called it "ultra-nationalist legislation applying to Arabs, with civil legislation applying to Jews."

"Now any Arab can be deemed a terrorist. A stone-throwing Arab will become a terrorist, while stone-throwing Jewish ultra-Orthodox will not," he said.

The Israeli government had declared and practiced numerous measures in the past several months in response to the wave of unrest. Some bodies of Palestinian attackers who were killed have been held back and not delivered to their parents, and security forces have demolished several houses belonging to families of attackers.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to examine whether it is legal to expel families of Palestinian attackers to other territories in the West Bank or to the Gaza Strip.

Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories, home to more than five million Palestinians nowadays, at the 1967 Mideast War.

While Israeli leaders charge the wave of unrest had been triggered by incitement to violence by the Palestinian Authority, Palestinians charge it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation on lands where they wish to establish a Palestinian state. Endit