The Knesset building in Jerusalem. PHOTO: James Emery.

JNS.org – The Israeli Knesset on Monday approved a bill seeking to prevent leniency for convicted terrorists. The legislation states that the Israel Prison Service Parole Board will be unable to discuss the early release of terrorists, especially those whose cases entailed aggravating circumstances, unless they had already served at least 15 years of their sentence.

The Parole Board will also be barred from commuting life sentences imposed on terrorists for a period of under 40 years, while the Israeli government cannot release terrorists as part of what the bill calls “foreign relations” and “security matters.” The Israeli president’s pardoning authority, however, is not affected by the bill.

MK Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli (Habayit Hayehudi) said the legislation strives to “ensure that terrorists who committed heinous murders would no longer be eligible for early release, even by the government,” according to Israel Hayom.