Former Israeli security and legal officials object to death penalty bill for Palestinian prisoners

Former senior officials in the defence and justice establishments contacted Israel's National Security Committee chairperson to warn of the consequences of advancing a death penalty bill for Palestinian prisoners convicted of killing Israelis, with no appeal, Haaretz reported.

"The proposal will severely damage the security of Israel and its citizens, and could endanger Jews and Israelis around the world," they said in a statement, adding that it would deepen divisions in Israeli society.

The former officials called for the proposal to be removed from the Knesset agenda, saying that imposing the death penalty is "unacceptable in terms of legal norms, and therefore unconstitutional".

The statement was signed by former Shin Bet chiefs Ami Ayalon and Carmi Gillon, former Shin Bet legal advisor Eli Bachar, and former deputy attorney general Dina Zilber, among other former senior officials.