Several right-wing lawmakers on Sunday presented a bill seeking to grant Israeli troops immunity from prosecution over actions performed within the line of duty.
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The move followed a Police Internal Investigations Department review of a Dec. 4 terrorist attack in Jerusalem, which saw Border Police troops fatally shoot a terrorist who stabbed an ultra-Orthodox man near the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The police released a surveillance video in which the terrorist can be seen stabbing the Haredi man and then trying to stab a police officer before being shot and falling to the ground.
The footage sparked controversy as it showed Israeli officers shooting the attacker again after he was already lying on the ground.
Some Arab MKs and Rights groups denounced the shooting as an "execution," and demanded the troops involved be investigated for excessive use of force.
Police Internal Investigations Department probed the incident and last week, the State Attorney's Office announced that the case would be closed, as the investigation found no fault in the troops' actions.
Sunday saw Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, present a legislative proposal seeking to ensure soldiers and police officers do not face criminal prosecution over actions taken in the line of duty.
The bill was co-sponsored by Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, Likud MKs Yariv Levin and May Golan, Yamina MK Amichai Chikli, Shas MK Yaakov Margi, and United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindrus.
"This bill will restore sanity in Israel and finally afford IDF soldiers and Border Police officers the protection they need so as not to find themselves in the interrogation room after every confrontation with a terrorist," Ben-Gvir said.
"Israeli reality is such that soldiers engaged in counterterrorism operations need to have a lawyer on retainer. It's time to put a stop to it," Ben-Gvir, himself an attorney who was involved in high-profile cases prior to being elected to parliament, added.
"Soldiers and Border Police officers will be protected, and will have automatic immunity, with the exception of unusual cases where it is clear they were in violation" of operational directives," he explained.
Ben-Gvir further urged the coalition partners to push the bill through, saying, "Before the elections, [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett, [Defense Minister] Benny Gantz, [Justice Minister Gideon] Sa'ar, and [Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor] Lieberman went on and on about how much they plan to protect our soldiers. Voting for this bill is a rare opportunity to give IDF soldiers and Border Police officers the backing they need – unless the heads of the coalition sought to dupe the public with regard to their concern for our soldiers."
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