“As long as I am defense minister, no terrorist will get a shortened sentence, not even by one hour.” Those are the decisive words that Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman tweeted Sept. 16. This was in response to the headlines of Yedioth Ahronoth that same morning, which announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had established a committee tasked with the issue of examining requests for shortening the sentences of Palestinians serving life sentences who were convicted in military courts.
This report referred to the fact that West Bank Palestinians suspected of criminal security offenses are sentenced in Israeli military courts also located in the West Bank. Most offenses committed by Israeli citizens, even if residing in the West Bank, are under the authority of the Israeli judicial system, not the military.
