Israel Knesset Rejects Death Penalty by 94-6 Vote

By JTA July 15, 2015

Israel’s Knesset voted down a bill that would allow judges to more easily sentence a terrorist to death.

By a vote of 94-6, the bill was rejected in its first reading on Wednesday. The six votes came from members of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, which proposed the measure, The Jerusalem Post reported. In the March election, the party ran on a platform that included death sentences for terrorists.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation did not vote on the measure at the urging of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and instead formed a committee to look at ways to change the death penalty law. Under current law, the death penalty can only be levied in case of judicial consensus.

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