Germany Warns Israel of Death Sentence

This Berlin reaction came after an Israeli ministerial committee backed the idea that the state would implement the death penalty.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, after talks in Berlin with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, said that “we see the plan to implement” capital punishment.

“We are against the death penalty and we are raising this issue worldwide”, she said during the joint media conference with Cohen.

On Sunday, the Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation backed a bill aimed at implementing the death penalty. This decision is part of the ruling coalition agreement reached between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right political partners.

The bill says that anyone who kills an Israeli citizen “due to racism or hostility... and intends to harm the state of Israel and restore the Jewish people to their land, must be sentenced to death and only at this time of”.

Baerbock pointed out that the Germans teach at school that Israel -- even though “threatened as no other country by terrorism” -- has carried out no execution since 1962, when the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hanged.

This has always been an impressive argument for us who have protected Israel on the international stage against unjust criticism”, she said.

I am convinced that it would be a big mistake to break off this” story, the German top diplomat added.

Even in the past, there have been attempts at passing similar bills, even though the latest bill stands out, which includes mandatory death sentences.

However, the bill is unlikely to pass, as ultra-orthodox parties of the Israeli ruling coalition are expected to vote against it for religious reasons.

Israel has withdrawn the death penalty in civil courts in 1954, even though this sentence can be pronounced for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, treason, and crimes against the Jewish people.

Israelis have staged massive protests against the legal reforms presented by the Government, which critics have seen as a threat to democracy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that recent reforms are key to restoring balance between branches of government.