All of the Knesset parties voted in favor of the law, with the exception of the left-wing Meretz party and the Joint List.
The press release quoted MK Zehava Galon of Meretz as saying that the law "is based on archaic and hysterical legislation” and "will not really provide the tools for combating terror. It will place us once again on the list of countries that take advantage of their democratic ability to enact anti-democratic laws.”
"The real terror is your occupation, which hasn’t yet ended,” he added. Haaretz quoted Knesset and Joint List member Ahmad Tibi as saying that the bill was “draconian and unacceptable,” adding: “You can demolish houses, arrest people, deport people, kill them and shoot them when they’re on the ground bleeding… But you can’t suppress a nation’s desire to liberate itself from the occupation.”
Rights groups have often conflated Israel’s anti-terrorism legislation with discriminatory policies enacted toward Palestinians that attempt to disrupt Palestinian political processes and create social and political divides among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and those residing in Israel.
