The ministerial committee on legislation is to vote Sunday on a bill that would take away benefits from terrorists with Israeli citizenship who leave prison early.
The legislation, sponsored by coalition chairman Yariv Levin (Likud), is timely because Israeli- Arabs are expected to be included at the end of next month in final round of prisoners being released by Israel to the Palestinian Authority as a gesture in the diplomatic process.
The benefits removed would include unemployment payments and other stipends from the National Insurance Institute.
“We should not tolerate the absurd situation in which terrorists who are released before their sentence is completed receive benefits from the state,” Levin said. “This includes terrorists set free in deals and diplomatic agreements.”
The Almagor organization, which represents terror victims and their families, is to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in an attempt to persuade him to refuse to release terrorists who are Israeli citizens. The organization also wrote US Secretary of State John Kerry.
In an attempt to reach out to Israelis, Kerry’s Jewish brother Cameron penned a column that was translated into Hebrew and printed in Yediot Aharonot on Friday in which he explained the secretary of state’s commitment to Israel’s security.
Cameron Kerry recalled his brother’s first trip to Israel 30 years ago along with Jewish leaders from Boston. He remembered his brother’s amazement at how small the country is.
“His determination to reach peace in the Middle East was impacted by his deep understanding of the need to guarantee the security of Israel as the home of the Jewish people,” Kerry wrote. “That was what led him to understand that Israel’s long-term security requires a two-state solution.
Due to security, demographic and geographic realities, Israel cannot continue the occupation of the West Bank and remain both Jewish and Democratic.”
No comments:
Post a Comment