Relatives of Some Hamas Hostages: Don't Talk About Executing Palestinians

Relatives of some of the approximately 240 hostages taken by Hamas from Israel urged Israeli lawmakers on Monday, November 20, not to pursue the death penalty proposal for some Palestinians, stating that even discussing this could endanger the lives of the hostages. Israel has stated that a number of armed Palestinians are in custody on suspicion of crossing the Gaza border on October 7, killing over 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages during the Hamas attack on that day. The Israeli Ministry of Justice has said that a working group is discussing how to prosecute these detained Palestinians to ensure that those convicted are punished 'in proportion to the violence they committed.' Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's Minister of National Security, described by Reuters as far-right, has called for the death penalty for them; a punishment that exists only in Israeli legal texts and has not been applied for decades. Some relatives of hostages taken by Hamas in Gaza are concerned that propaganda around the death penalty discussion could lead to retaliation, especially as hopes for an agreement for the release of some of them are increasing. Yarden Gonen, whose sister is one of the hostages, addressed Ben Gvir, saying: 'This means playing into their narrative, and in return, we receive pictures of our loved ones who have been killed, and in the end, the Israeli government, not Hamas, will be blamed.' She said, 'Don't do this until they have returned. Don't stain your hands with my sister's blood.' The only death sentence in Israel was issued in 1962 against Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal. Israeli military courts, which often handle cases related to Palestinians, have the authority to issue death sentences with the unanimous decision of three judges, although such a sentence has never been issued. On October 7, Hamas targeted Israel with missile attacks and stormed southern Israeli areas, killing over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages, including children, women, and the elderly. In response, Israel began air, sea, and ground attacks to eradicate Hamas. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have classified Hamas as a terrorist organization. Meanwhile, according to CNN, negotiators are nearing an agreement for the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas. Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN that the recent draft of a potential agreement for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza includes a four to five-day ceasefire to free 50 hostages. The report emphasized that no agreement has yet been finalized, and the text has been exchanged between the parties for weeks. CNN cited informed sources saying that while disagreements on some key issues are being resolved, negotiations could still fail, or they may reach an agreement in a few more days. John Feiner, Deputy National Security Advisor at the White House, said on Sunday in an interview with CNN, 'We believe that since these negotiations began weeks ago, we have never been closer to an agreement.' Feiner did not go into details about the negotiations but emphasized that there is currently no final agreement.