Israel reportedly mulls legalizing execution of the Palestinians that the regime in Tel Aviv finds guilty of attacking Israelis.
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 10, Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, the newly-appointed minister of military affairs, have reached an agreement on the measure.
According to the measure, the opinion of as few as two judges sitting on a panel -- and not the majority of them -- would suffice to convict a Palestinian of such an attack.
Israel’s Knesset (Parliament) and Netanyahu’s Likud Party had last year put up opposition to such a law.
Lieberman’s appointment came after Netanyahu summoned his predecessor Moshe Ya’alon and reproached him over supporting an analogy between Israel’s situation and Nazi Germany.
Ya’alon then officially resigned both from the cabinet and the Knesset (parliament), citing “lack of trust” in the premier. He also said Israel and the ruling Likud Party was taken over by “dangerous and radical officials.”
Upon being offered by Netanyahu to succeed Ya’alon in the position, Lieberman, who leads the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, said Tel Aviv would have to ratify the law if he is to take the job.
The former minister had on several occasions come under fire by rightists for speaking against an Israeli soldier who was caught on camera shooting dead an already wounded Palestinian man on March 24.
He had also criticized the demonstrations held by extremists in Israel in support of the Israeli soldier.
Ya’alon and Netanyahu also held opposition views on the regime’s freeze in the process of returning the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers amid tensions in the occupied West Bank.
In late March, the premier ordered Ya’alon to stop handing over the bodies to their families. Ya’alon’s ministry had resumed returning the corpses to their families on the condition that they were buried overnight and in a low-key funeral.
On Friday, Ehud Barak, a former Israeli minister of military affairs, reacted to Ya’alon’s resignation and warned against Lieberman’s appointment.
The government is “showing signs of fascism,” he said, adding, “The dismissal of Ya'alon should be a red light to all of us about what is happening in the government.”
“This government is destined to fall,” warned Barak, who added, “In the first months, Lieberman will try to appear moderate, but sooner or later, we will pay the price. Let us pray that it will not be too heavy.”
Tensions have heightened in the occupied Palestinian territories due to Israel’s imposition in August 2015 of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds.
At least 213 Palestinians, including women and children, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since October 2015. Around 30 Israeli have been killed during the time span.