How much does the Israeli taxpayer spend for a Nukhba terrorist's legal defense? - KAN

As of mid-July, thousands of shekels have been approved to fund the legal defense of Nukhba terrorists, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported on Monday.

The figures presented by KAN show that the highest sum approved for a single terrorist was NIS 10,801, while the average sum approved was NIS 4,500.

According to the KAN numbers, for 16 terrorists, the sum of NIS 6,000 was approved for each individual terrorist, while for six terrorists, NIS 7,500 was approved for each.

Since October 7, legal defense has been approved for 80 terrorists.

KAN cited the Judicial Authority as saying in response, “The law requires representation by a defense attorney in cases where the detainee appears in court. The fees are paid from the state treasury funds by the regulations. The administration of the courts has turned to the Justice Ministry to examine how the judicial decisions are implemented and find a budgetary source, and the issue is still under consideration.”

Bill preventing funding of legal defense

In mid-July, the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee approved the first reading of the law proposed by the committee chair, Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman, to prevent the funding of the legal defense of security prisoners. The law is set to be implemented for all those who were suspected or accused of terrorist activities since October 7.

The bill proposes that for “whoever is not a resident or citizen of Israel, who is suspected or accused of terror activities, and who will be appointed a defense attorney by law, the salary of the defense attorney will be paid from the frozen funds designated for the Palestinian Authority.”