Combating Illegal Weapons Bill (Legislative Amendment and Temporary Order), 2023

The law, passed on 28 March 2023, as an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search) Law and the Penal Law 5737-1977, authorizes Israeli police officers to enter homes, businesses and any other location to conduct searches without requiring a search warrant, at the discretion of police commanders i.e. in the absence of judicial oversight. Specifically, the law allows for warrantless searches in cases involving suspected weapon-related offenses or to seize a camera where there is a suspicion that it may hold evidence of the commission of an offense. The law extends the police’s authority to conduct searches without warrants beyond the grounds permitted previously, which allowed such searches when there were reasonable grounds to believe an offense was being committed or during pursuits of individuals, among other grounds.

The amendment additionally expands weapons offenses as enumerated under the Penal Law by adding penalties for the illegal possession and carrying of weapon “parts”, which carries a penalty of imprisonment ranging from three to five years.

While the law was enacted as a temporary order, effective for one year starting from 15 May 2023, the Knesset has a long-standing history of passing officially “temporary orders” that specifically target Palestinians and renewing them annually, effectively making these laws permanent. For example, the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law of 2003, which bans Palestinian family unification, has been renewed 23 times since 2003. This was raised by several officials during Knesset deliberations about the law.^[1]

The law, passed under the pretext of “combating crime within Arab society”, specifically targets Palestinians. Particularly given the long history of police oppression of Palestinian citizens of Israel, the law violates the rights of Palestinian citizens to equality, privacy, dignity, and a fair legal process. The law is a part of a series of measures promoted by Israeli authorities that exploit real concerns about organized crime in Palestinian communities as a pretext for promoting legislation that violates the rights of Palestinian citizens and entrenches racialized policing.

Main provisions

Amendment to the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search) - No. 15 - Temporary Order:

“(b) In addition to what is stated in subsection (a), during a period of one year commencing from 24 Iyar, 5783 (15 May 2023) ([for the purpose of] this subsection - the period of the temporary provision) - a police officer is authorized to enter and search any house or location, without a search warrant, if:

(1)   Reasonable suspicion was raised that there is a weapon or a substantial part of a weapon in the house or at the location, which could serve as evidence for the commission of an offense under Section 144 of the Penal Law, if a search is not conducted immediately, it would hinder the purpose of the search, and obtaining a search warrant is not possible due to the need to conduct the search immediately to prevent the concealment or impairment of the evidence.

(2)   Reasonable suspicion was raised that there is documentation or a camera in the house or location that could serve as evidence for the commission of a serious crime or an offense under Sections 144(a), (b), or 340(a)(b) of the Penal Law, If a search is not conducted immediately, it would hinder the purpose of the search, and obtaining a search warrant is not possible due to the need to conduct the search immediately to prevent the concealment or impairment of the evidence.

….

Amendment to the Penal Law - No. 145

4. In the Penal Law 5737-1977, in section 144 –

(1)   In subsection (a)(1), the words “the purchaser or” shall be deleted, and instead of the concluding phrase beginning with “however, if the weapon was”, the following shall be inserted: ”however, concerning a substantial part of a weapon - the penalty is five years of imprisonment, and regarding a part, accessory, or equipment as specified in clauses (1) or (2) of the definition of ’weapon’, which are not a substantial part of the weapon (in this section - a non-substantial part of the weapon), the penalty is three years of imprisonment.”

(2)   In subsection (b), instead of “the carrier” it shall be ”the purchaser, the carrier”, after “according to the law” shall be “to his purchase”, and instead of the concluding phrase beginning with “however” [the following] shall be inserted "however, concerning a substantial part of a weapon, the penalty is five years of imprisonment, and for a non-substantial part of a weapon, the penalty is three years of imprisonment."

Context

The enactment of the law follows the introduction of a governmental bill that passed its first reading in December 2021, under the government led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The bill was reintroduced under the far-right government that assumed power in 2022, with the sponsorship of MK Yitzhak Kroizer (the Jewish Power, or Otzma Yehudit, party) and MK Oded Forer (the Israel is Our Home, or Yisrael Beitenu, party), both of whom have openly expressed racist views towards Palestinians.

The bill was introduced under the pretext of “fighting crime within Arab society”. According to the explanatory notes to the law, it was designed to address the “wave of violence and criminality, especially in Arab society…”.^[2] The law’s primary objective is “to reduce the number of illegal weapons used by criminal organizations … by providing the Israel Police and other [law] enforcement agencies with tools to deal with this phenomenon.” This law is part of several measures undertaken by Israeli authorities in this regard.

During Knesset debates, several Knesset Members made it clear that their strong support of the bill stemmed more from a fear that weapons and organized crime would harm Jewish Israelis, rather than from concern for Palestinian communities in Israel. For instance, MK Oded Forer, one of the initiators of the law, noted that, “If someone thinks that when these weapons circulate, they will only target the Arab community or specific regions, they are mistaken.” He stressed the importance of equipping the police with the tools provided by the law, stating that, ”The weapons seized in Lod [(Lydd) - a city with a substantial Palestinian population considered a 'mixed city'] - can also be used in the streets of Bnei Brak and Ness Ziona [two Jewish cities]”.^[3] Furthermore, the examples presented by MKs to demonstrate  the necessity for the bill during the Knesset debates, were drawn almost exclusively from mixed Jewish-Palestininan cities, especially Lydd, and focused on the impact of organized crime on the Jewish population residing there.

The emergence of organized crime within Palestinian towns and villages in Israel is a direct result of Israel’s deliberate neglect of these communities. For decades, the Israeli police have neglected to address rising crime rates in Palestinian towns and villages, through a policy of deliberate inaction that is just one facet of Israel's systematic discrimination against its Palestinian citizens and disregard for their lives. The culmination of Israeli discrimination, including the police's inaction, has significantly contributed to an alarming surge in violence, as evidenced by the tragic toll of 244 Palestinians killed in criminal incidents in Israel in 2023 alone.

Why is it discriminatory?

The expansion of police powers jeopardizes the rights to privacy, dignity, and a fair legal process of Palestinian citizens, who are the intended targets of this law, as made clear by the pretext under which it passed and its explanatory notes. The law grants police officers absolute discretion to conduct intrusive searches in homes and businesses. Any location can become a potential site for police intrusion, devoid of checks and balances in the exercise of their authority. Searches are not restricted by proximity to the location where suspicion arises. Consequently, residences within the same building, on the same street, or in adjacent neighborhoods may also be subject to search. The legal advisor to the Knesset's national security committee even emphasized the sweeping and draconian nature of the law, stating, “We are indeed dealing with a rather draconian temporary order.”^[4]  Given that this law targets Palestinians and considering the history of abusive police practices towards Palestinians, such legislation risks arbitrary and unjust targeting of Palestinian communities, violating their rights based on their national belonging.

The discriminatory nature and inherent effects of the law cannot be understood in isolation; instead, it must be considered in the context of a series of measures promoted and implemented by Israeli authorities under the pretext of “fighting crime in Arab society.” These measures introduce more oppressive tools exercised by law enforcement authorities, almost exclusively against Palestinians. These include a governmental decision to assign General Security Service (Shin Bet or Shabak) agents and military forces to operate in Palestinian towns and neighborhoods; expanding the use of mandatory minimum sentences that primarily affect Palestinians; the establishment of paramilitary undercover units that operate exclusively in Palestinian towns and villages; and the proposed bill that would grant the National Security Minister the authority to order administrative detention. These laws and policies, including this amendment, act to entrench Israel’s apartheid in the area of law enforcement, in which one, civilian system applies to Israeli-Jewish citizens, and a separate, militarized, system is employed against Palestinians, entailing severe infringements of their rights on a discriminatory basis.