Status: 02/27/2023 00:06 am
A few hours after Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, violent riots broke out there: Jewish settlers torched Palestinian homes. At the same time, Israelis and Palestinians in Jordan were discussing de-escalation.
In response to the deadly attack on two Israelis in the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the late evening. Palestinian media reported that 30 houses and vehicles were set on fire in the town of Hawara. The two settlers were killed there by Palestinians a few hours earlier.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least one person was shot dead during the unrest – but it remains unclear who fired the fatal shot. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported at least four serious injuries. Dozens of people also needed treatment for tear gas inhalation.
The Israeli army reported 15 houses and 25 cars burned. Israeli soldiers rescued nine Palestinian families from their burning homes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged calm in a video message that night. “I beg you: when the blood boils and the spirit grows hot, do not take justice into your own hands.”
Meanwhile, the search for the Palestinian suspect continued. Faced with the dangerous escalation of the situation, the army announced in the evening that it would add two more battalions to its troops in the West Bank.
summit in jordan
The attack also overshadowed a meeting in Jordan at which representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Territories and other states discussed reducing the violence that recently flared up again. National Security Advisor and the head of the Shin Bet secret service attended for Israel, and the head of secret service and adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas for the Palestinian side. Egyptian and US delegations also traveled to the summit – a sign of the seriousness of the situation ahead of the start of the fasting month of Ramadan at the end of March.
In a joint statement, both sides expressed their willingness to de-escalate the situation, prevent further violence and ultimately work towards a “just and lasting peace”. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amman.
Israel has agreed not to hold negotiations on new settlements in the Palestinian Territories for four months and not to approve new ones for six months. Both sides also agreed to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, under which Jews cannot pray there, he said.
There will be another meeting in March – then in Egypt.
Israel wants death penalty for terrorists
Meanwhile, Israel’s right-wing religious government has introduced the death penalty for terrorist crimes. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, said the cabinet took a decision to that effect on Sunday. The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, is due to discuss the issue for the first time on Wednesday.
According to the bill, anyone who “deliberately or recklessly causes the death of an Israeli citizen, if the act is committed with a racist motive or out of hatred against a certain group of people” and if this “with the aim of destroying the state, hurting Israel and the rebirth of the Jewish people in their homeland”.
In the Israeli-occupied areas of the West Bank, there should be a special solution: death sentences would be handed down here by military courts, whose judges would not need to decide unanimously.
Death penalty for most cases abolished in 1954
The introduction of the death penalty for terrorism is a dream project of the radical Otzmah Jehudit (Jewish Force) party, a coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Israel had abolished the death penalty for most crimes and in peacetime in 1954. It is still permitted for some cases, including genocide, crimes against humanity and the Jewish people, and war. It has only been held once since 1954: in 1962, Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann was executed after his trial in Jerusalem.
Attorney General: Bill unconstitutional
Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, criticized the new law and called it unconstitutional. Furthermore, the law cannot be extended to the West Bank because Israeli law has not yet been applied there.
She also doubted that the death penalty would act as a deterrent as claimed by the government. In other legislative projects, the Israeli government is working to weaken the Supreme Court – in the future, parliament should be able to overturn court decisions, for example, on unconstitutional laws.
Climbing in the North West Bank
Jan-Christoph Kitzler, ARD Tel Aviv, 27.2.2023 12:19 pm