Hostage czar says he asked Netanyahu to delay death penalty vote until he can discuss with cabinet

After the Knesset National Security Committee votes to advance a bill imposing the death penalty on terrorists for its first reading in the full plenum, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hostage point man says he requested from the premier that the bill not be brought for a vote before the cabinet discusses the matter, warning that the measure endangers the lives of hostages in Gaza.

“The mission is the return of the hostages — both the living and the fallen. I asked the prime minister that the issue being discussed today in the committee not be brought to the plenum before a thorough discussion is held in the cabinet, where I will be able to present the full picture and my own assessment. That’s how it shall be,” Gal Hirsch writes in a Hebrew-language post on X.

While Netanyahu does not have the authority to halt the vote – a decision that rests with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana – Hirsch is likely hoping the premier will press Ohana to delay the bill being put on the Knesset agenda.

“This discussion does not help us. I came here today to express my position, to disagree with the assessment of the minister and the committee chair, and to request nonetheless that this discussion not take place,” Hirsch told the committee ahead of the vote.

Hirsch notably has not joined Netanyahu or the delegations of hostage families who traveled to the United States ahead of the UN General Assembly and Netanyahu’s meeting tomorrow with US President Donald Trump.