Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering the possibility of creating a special court for security issues, Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported. Netanyahu made the revelation during a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, according to two members of the committee who refused to reveal more details.
The two members of Knesset said that Netanyahu spoke about the idea while he was presenting to parliamentarians the steps his cabinet has taken in the past month to confront the ongoing Palestinian popular uprising. The Israeli prime minister did not answer questions from Knesset members about what he means by a special tribunal for security issues and whether this would constitute a new judicial body.
Haaretz reported that the MKs who attended the session “surmise that Netanyahu is interested in a court that would deal with issues such as the demolition of terrorists’ houses, administrative detention, and the revocation of residence and citizenship from people suspected of terrorism. It could also deal with the wider issue of terrorism and its financing.”
“Netanyahu has stated publicly and in closed meetings in recent weeks that the judicial system is stalling the implementation of punitive measures against terrorists. The courts, he has said, are too slow when dealing with petitions relating to the demolition of terrorists’ houses,” Haaretz added.
Member of the PLO Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi accused Netanyahu of following in the footsteps of Arab dictators Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein if he were to create the court.
