Otzma Yehudit presents bill to send terrorists younger than 14 to normal prison

A bill to lower the age of imprisonment for terrorism to below the age of fourteen was submitted by Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kreuzer on Wednesday.

The Youth Law, which holds that a minor below the age of 14 can't be imprisoned, would be amended to soften the restriction if the minor committed an act of terrorism.

A prison sentence would be able to be imposed on an underage terrorist taking into consideration the outcome of the case, the effect on the minor, the age when the attack was committed, and the personality of the minor.

A provision limiting the detention of minors if another less intrusive measure could be used to achieve the same ends would be similarly conditioned in terrorism cases.

The bill's explanatory notes said that under the current Youth Law detention is shorted for minors under 14, and cannot be arrested until the end of legal proceedings.

Attacks by children under 14

According to Kreuzer, the bill was submitted in response to attacks by terrorists younger than the age of 14, most notably the January 28 City of David shooting in which a father and son were injured.

"The youth laws of the State of Israel are designed to protect minors who have fallen into crime and delinquency, and that is a good thing," said Kreuzer. "However, in the reality in which we live, the State of Israel is forced to deal with minors who have carried out severe and murderous terrorist activity, such as those carried out not long ago in the severe attack in the City of David by a 13-year-old terrorist."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that the City of David incident showed the necessity of strengthening deterrence.

"Every teenager should know that he would pay a very heavy price if he tried to harm Jews," said Ben-Gvir.