Death penalty for terrorists – the rope is always too slack

The arguments in opposition to capital punishment are well hashed out and I’m sure you’ll read about them in similar articles addressing this topic. For the purposes of this post I presume that capital punishment is just in principle. My argument is that the imposition of the death penalty for the specific class of terrorists prosecuted for murder from the territories, or those detained for participating in the massacres of October 7th would be counter-productive.

Capital punishment administered within the domestic confines of conventional penal law are one thing. But the prospect of executing terrorists detained from the territories is a different ball park entirely. The negative propaganda value is immense. Its not outside the realm of comprehension that foreign streets will be named after them. Their stories will go down in song and ballad. Some critics of Israel may very well compare their execution to those Iranian protesters who were judicially hanged en masse following the protests there.

I would like to take you back to the fall out from the failed Easter Rising in Dublin 1916. The Irish republican dissidents enjoyed much less than a plurality of popular support in their campaign for liberation from British occupation. In fact there was a general disdain amongst the Irish public for the extent of property damage wrought by reprisals from the British Army which they largely blamed on the actions of the Irish Republican Army. However the summary executions of the leaders of the rebellion overnight turned the tide of Irish opinion against the British. They were elevated to the status of glorified Martyrs. Almost immediately the ranks of the Irish Republican Army were filled with enthusiastic volunteers.

Let’s be honest, if the authorities really want to eliminate someone they have their means. Whether that be by targeted assassinations, the numerous ‘fatalities’ behind bars or forced disappearances. As Dylan said “the executioner’s face is always well hidden”. In the proposed context capital punishment is a gratuitous display of theatrics for appealing to certain quarters of the Israeli electorate.

Some commentators have drawn parallels to Eichmann’s execution for crimes against the jewish people. Indeed a degree of national catharsis was accomplished with his trial and execution. But this case can be distinguished on the basis that the Nazi regime had been entirely defeated and dismantled. Aside from the inconsequential remaining purveyors of Nazi ideology, for all intents and purposes this enemy had been eliminated. In contrast of course Hamas and the various other Palestinian militant organizations are very much active and carry much popular support. Moreover, while Eichmann’s execution united the Jewish world in the wake of the holocaust, hanging terrorists would alienate much of the Jewish diaspora.

Rather than focussing on executing terrorists in order to bring closure to the families of October 7th victims, the families and country as a whole would be much better served if the government concentrated its efforts on establishing a robust, comprehensive inquiry concerning that fateful day.