Israeli Government seeks to intensify anti-terror enforcement

by Edna Adato, Yori Yalon and Israel Hayom Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes special meeting on Islamic State group's potential threat to Israel • Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to introduce legislation aggravating counterterrorism measures taken by Israel's law enforcement agencies.

"We will do what needs to be done to protect ourselves against terrorism," says Justice Minister Tzipi Livni | Photo credit: AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a special session on Wednesday to discuss the growing threat to Israel by radical terror organizations, such as Islamic State group (ISIS), which are operating in the Middle East.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Shin Bet security agency Director Yoram Cohen, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein participated in the meeting, which focused on the need to intensify the counterterrorism measures taken by Israel's law enforcement agencies.

Livni is expected to release a legal brief on Thursday, outlining a new bill that would bar Israeli citizens and residents from participating in any activity related to organizations that have been designated by that state as terrorist groups.

As part of the bill, the defense minister will release an administrative order listing designated terrorist organizations, as well as the areas and countries in which they are known to operate. Israelis would be barred from having any contact with these groups -- in or outside Israel.

Israeli citizens or residents found to be affiliated with such groups may face up to three years in jail.

The government's legislation efforts are the result of information gathered by Israel's intelligence agencies, indicating that several Arab Israelis have recently joined rebel forces in Syria. 

Several rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad have known affiliations with radical jihadist groups, such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, which provide them with weapons and training.

The Justice Ministry also plans to introduce legislation meant to combat various expressions of support for organizations the likes of ISIS, including waving their flags in public, or the posting of pro-terrorism statements on social media platforms.

Israel's intelligence agencies, for their part, have already begun increasing their efforts to locate and apprehend ISIS operatives in Israel, as well as thwarting any attempt by the Islamic State group to form local terror cells.

"We will do what needs to be done to protect ourselves against terrorism. This is what every Western nation is doing. We won't allow [ISIS] to get a foothold [in Israel]," Livni said after the meeting. 

"The new situation requires we create the mechanism necessary to deal with it without delay. For example, we need to adapt Israeli law to the developments we see in the international arena."

The justice minister further said that "solid legislation and strong statements against ISIS are all well and good, but they are not enough," adding that Israel has to "reignite the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority to create a strong collaboration with Arab countries that view [ISIS] as a common enemy. 

"The peace process will help us fight this mutual threat. Those who don't want to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the ones who will eventually drive us to a bloody conflict with decapitators."

Livni added that she believes Israel has to appeal to the U.N. Security Council "and demand a binding resolution that would stop Hamas' rearmament, a resolution that would stop the funding of terrorism, and that would demand the Palestinian Authority, which recognizes Israel, be reinstated in the Gaza Strip."

Edna Adato, Yori Yalon and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=20033

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