News - Middle East: The Israeli Knesset has approved the first reading of a bill that allows the regime to pass the death penalty for Palestinian abductees.

On Monday, the regime's lawmakers advanced the draft legislation by 39 votes to 16.

The bill will now be referred to the Knesset's National Security Committee for the final two readings it must pass to become a law.

Israeli far-right minister Ben Gvir reacted in a statement, saying the death penalty law is critical to the security of the regime.

In a separate vote, the Knesset also advanced another controversial measure known as the so-called Al Jazeera Law. This bill grants the regime sweeping powers to shut down foreign media outlets without requiring a court order.

According to Haaretz, this bill passed its first reading with 50 votes in favor and 41 against.

Israel has not only ordered the closure of Al Jazeera’s offices, but its forces have killed hundreds of journalists to prevent transparent coverage of the regime’s crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Last week, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the bill a war crime and a sign of the regime’s growing extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people.

The ministry said Israel’s judicial system and the Knesset act as the regime’s tools to legitimize crimes against Palestinians and guarantee impunity.

It said the measure is also an extension of the regime's genocide in Gaza to the occupied West Bank, with serious implications for the abductees.

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad had earlier slammed the bill.

Hamas said the draft law shows the ugly and fascist nature of Israel, while the Islamic Jihad warned that the bill puts thousands of Palestinians at risk of execution.

It stipulates that judges will be able to impose a death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on "nationalistic grounds." It would not apply to an Israeli killing a Palestinian under similar circumstances.

The bill, first pushed by far-right Israeli parties before Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, has resurfaced in recent months with renewed backing.

Source: Press TV