Summary
A 2023 law, passed 28 March 2023 as a temporary order, authorising warrantless police entry and search for weapons or camera evidence and expanding Penal Law penalties for weapon parts, which Adalah’s Discriminatory Laws Database presents as a draconian measure enacted under the pretext of fighting crime in Arab society and targeting Palestinians (Discriminatory Laws Database, lines 230-308).
Details
- Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search) Amendment No. 15, a temporary order for one year from 15 May 2023: an officer may enter and search any house or location without a warrant where there is reasonable suspicion of a weapon or a substantial part of a weapon (Penal Law s.144 evidence), or of documentation or a camera holding evidence of a serious crime or of ss.144(a), (b) or 340(a)(b) offences, where an immediate search is needed to prevent concealment or impairment of the evidence and obtaining a warrant is not possible (lines 253-259).
- Penal Law Amendment No. 145, s.144: five years’ imprisonment for a substantial part of a weapon and three years for a non-substantial part (an accessory or equipment under the weapon definition) (lines 263-269).
- The bill passed its first reading as a governmental bill in December 2021 and was reintroduced under the government that assumed power in 2022, sponsored by MK Yitzhak Kroizer (Jewish Power / Otzma Yehudit) and MK Oded Forer (Yisrael Beitenu). Its explanatory notes describe it as addressing the “wave of violence and criminality, especially in Arab society…” (lines 271-277).
- Adalah notes that the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law of 2003 has been renewed 23 times, that searches under the new power are not restricted by proximity to the place where suspicion arises, and that the Knesset national security committee’s legal advisor called it “a rather draconian temporary order”. Adalah gives 244 Palestinians killed in criminal incidents in Israel in 2023, and lists companion measures including General Security Service agents and military forces in Palestinian towns, mandatory minimum sentences and paramilitary undercover units operating exclusively in Palestinian towns (lines 247, 279-285).
Related pages
Discriminatory Laws Database, Adalah, Knesset, Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (temporary provision), 5763-2003