Government bill · 25th Knesset · published as law 26 July 2023
חוק לתיקון פקודת בתי הסוהר (הוראות שעה), התשפ"ג-2023Law to Amend the Prisons Ordinance (temporary provisions), 2023 · automatic translation · suggest a correction
Status: התקבלה בקריאה שלישית
Topics: Police and internal security* · * from the Knesset's official law classification
Official summary of the law (Knesset)
הוארכה הוראת השעה בעניין הסדר השחרור המנהלי המורחב הקבוע בפקודת בתי הסוהר עד לתאריך כ"ה בתמוז התשפ"ד (31 ביולי 2023), במספר שינויים שעיקרם ביטול השחרור המינהלי לאסירים ביטחוניים והרחבת תקופת השחרור המינהלי לאסירים שנגזרו עליהם 18 עד 36 חודשי מאסר. כן נקבע כי תקן הכליאה בבתי הסוהר יעמוד על 14,5000 מקומות עד יום כ"א בשבט התשפ"ד (31 בינואר 2024).
Readings
- 11 July 2023 · First readingהצעת חוק לתיקון פקודת בתי הסוהר (הוראות שעה), התשפ"ג-2023Bill to Amend the Prisons Ordinance (temporary provisions), 2023autoBill passed first reading41 for · 25 against
- 24 July 2023 · Third readingהצעת חוק לתיקון פקודת בתי הסוהר (הוראות שעה), התשפ"ג-2023Bill to Amend the Prisons Ordinance (temporary provisions), 2023autoLaw passed12 for · 1 against
What was said in the plenum
The bill extends by one additional year, until 31 July 2024, the temporary provision regulating expanded administrative release of prisoners as a means of reducing prison overcrowding, while fully excluding security prisoners from eligibility for administrative release of any kind. The discussion focused on the balance between the need to ease the burden of incarceration and the desire not to grant relief to terrorists and serious offenders.
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Hebrew original
הצעת החוק מאריכה בשנה נוספת, עד 31 ביולי 2024, את הוראת השעה המסדירה שחרור מינהלי מורחב של אסירים כאמצעי להפחתת הצפיפות בבתי הסוהר, תוך החרגה מלאה של אסירים ביטחוניים מהזכאות לשחרור מינהלי מכל סוג. הדיון התמקד באיזון שבין הצורך להקל על עומס הכליאה לבין הרצון שלא להעניק הקלות למחבלים ולעבריינים חמורים.
Arguments for
- Extending the temporary provision is necessary to address a sharp rise in the prisoner population and a severe overcrowding crisis in prisons, which has not been resolved despite the measures taken so far.Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit)
- Unlike previous arrangements, the bill excludes all security prisoners from eligibility for administrative release, as part of the fight against terrorists and unlike the policy of the previous government.Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit)
- The exclusion of security prisoners reflects the position that administrative release is not a basic or vested right but a benefit that should not be granted to those convicted of security offenses that undermine the state.Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit)
- Complementary measures are also being taken to expand detention facilities and alternatives to custody, so that in the future it may be possible to further reduce reliance on administrative release, including for sex offenders and those convicted of serious violence.Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit)
Arguments against
- Administrative release, and especially its expanded version, is not an ideal solution because it releases prisoners before their time without taking into account the circumstances of the offense, the personal circumstances of the offender, the harm to victims of the offense, or the rehabilitation processes the prisoner has undergone.Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit)
- The early release of sex offenders and offenders guilty of severe violence is a difficult and troubling matter that was accepted only for lack of choice given the incarceration crisis, and not out of a value-based consideration.Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit)
Who spoke (2)
| Member | Faction | Readings | Speeches | In the final vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itamar Ben Gvir | Otzma Yehudit coalition | First reading | 1 | no record |
| Tzvika Foghel | Otzma Yehudit coalition | Third reading | 1 | for |
An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2 · write to the author
Reservations to the second reading
22 reservations were filed: proposed changes to the text the committee brought to the second and third reading.
The reservations seek to change and clarify the wording of sections of the Prisons Ordinance concerning prisoner release conditions and the mechanisms for their cancellation and tightening; some seek to extend the validity of the temporary provision and postpone commencement dates, and one proposes raising the budget amount specified in the law.
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Hebrew original
ההסתייגויות מבקשות לשנות ולהבהיר ניסוח של סעיפי פקודת בתי הסוהר בכל הנוגע לתנאי שחרור אסירים ולמנגנוני ביטול והחמרה בהם, חלקן מבקשות להאריך את תוקף הוראת השעה ולדחות מועדי תחילה, והאחת מציעה להעלות את התקציב הנקוב בחוק.
By faction
- National Unity opposition · 17 reservations · 12 members
- Labor opposition · 5 reservations · 4 members
- Yesh Atid opposition · 5 reservations · 24 members
A joint reservation counts for every faction whose members filed it.
Who proposed what
- המחנה הממלכתי · 17The State Camp group proposes extending the validity of the temporary provision until December 2024, amending wording and canceling or changing various provisions in Section 1 relating to conditions for prisoner release, raising the budget in Section 2 to 16,000, and postponing the law's effective date in Section 3 to December 2023.Sections: לסעיף 1, לסעיף 2, לסעיף 3
- יש עתיד · 5The Yesh Atid group, together with the Labor group, proposes wording and numerical changes to provisions of Section 1 relating to the structure of the Ordinance's sections, their applicability, and the remorse required of prisoners, including extending periods from 21 to 23.Sections: לסעיף 1Yair Lapid, Orna Barbivay, Meir Cohen, Karine Elharrar, Meirav Cohen, Elazar Stern, Mickey Levy, Merav Ben Ari, Ram Ben Barak, Yoav Segalovitz, Boaz Toporovsky, Michal Shir Segman, Idan Roll, Yorai Lahav Hertzanu, Vladimir Beliak, Ron Katz, Matti Sarfatti Harcavi, Tatiana Mazarsky, Yasmin Fridman, Debbie Biton, Moshe Turpaz, Simon Davidson, Naor Shiri, Shelly Tal Meron
- העבודה · 5The working group, in cooperation with the Yesh Atid group, proposes formal and numerical changes to the provisions of Section 1 concerning the structure of the Ordinance's sections, their applicability, and the recantation required from prisoners, including extending periods from 21 to 23.Sections: לסעיף 1
Asked to speak: Ayman Odeh (Hadash–Ta'al), Ahmad Tibi (Hadash–Ta'al), Aida Touma Sliman (Hadash–Ta'al), Ofer Cassif (Hadash–Ta'al), Youssef Atauna (Hadash–Ta'al)
Proposers and reservation numbers are extracted automatically from the committee version, and the count is checked against the numbers printed in it. The descriptions are an automatic summary. Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF) · write to the author
Reservations, sections and other votes (1)
In order. Votes on reservations and individual sections are shown separately from the vote on the bill as a whole.
- 24 July 2023 · Second reading · סעיפים 1-3הצעת חוק לתיקון פקודת בתי הסוהר (הוראות שעה), התשפ"ג-2023Bill to Amend the Prisons Ordinance (temporary provisions), 2023auto12 for · 1 againstVote on sections of the bill