Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo has submitted a new bill proposing a mandatory minimum sentence for arsonists, following a recent wave of fires across Israel.
The bill is expected to be discussed at the upcoming Ministerial Committee for Legislation meeting.
In the explanatory notes, MK Revivo states: “In recent years, there has been an increase in arson targeting public property, forests, and nature reserves, with a nationalist motive. Arsonists exploit the ease of committing the act and the difficulty of tracking and prosecuting offenders, using arson as a form of protest against the State and its institutions. The damage caused by arson is severe and destructive, wiping out decades of hard work in an instant. Even though in these arsons no human life is necessarily harmed, such acts must be considered serious crimes.”
The proposed legislation seeks to amend a clause in the Penal Code to establish that in cases of nationalist arson, “the sentence shall not be less than one-quarter of the maximum penalty set for the offense, unless the court, for special reasons to be recorded, decides to reduce the sentence.”
Currently, the law states: “Anyone who willfully sets fire to property not belonging to them shall be sentenced to fifteen years in prison; if done with the intent to harm State property, public facilities, nature sites, vegetation, or endanger residents of the area, or with intent to harm individuals, the sentence is twenty years in prison.”
Source link
