Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016
חוק המאבק בטרור, תשע"ו-2016
Published: 2016-06-23Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-11-27 · Last amended 2025-04-03✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-17
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Chapter V: Judicial Forfeiture and Administrative Forfeiture
Section A: Judicial Forfeiture in Criminal Proceedings
Forfeiture of property following conviction of a terrorism offence§
53.
With regard to the forfeiture of property of a person convicted of a terrorism offence, the provisions of sections 21, 23 and 26(a) of the Prohibition of Money Laundering Law shall apply with the necessary modifications and with the following modifications:
(1)the provisions of section 36h of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance [New Version], 5733-1973 (in this Law — the Drugs Ordinance), shall not apply with respect to the management and use of the forfeited property;
(2)the provisions of section 36c(a) of the Drugs Ordinance shall apply only to a claimant to a right in the property who is not a terrorist organisation;
(3)notwithstanding the provisions of section 36c(c) of the Drugs Ordinance, the court may order the forfeiture of movable property that is not subject to seizure pursuant to section 22(a)(4) of the Execution Law, 5727-1967.
Forfeiture of property of a terrorist organisation following conviction of managing a terrorist organisation§
54.
Where a person has been convicted of an offence pursuant to section 20, a court may, upon an application by a prosecutor, order that, in addition to any other punishment, property that is property of the terrorist organisation in connection with which that person was convicted shall be forfeited; the provisions of section 53 shall apply to a forfeiture pursuant to this section.
Forfeiture of property discovered after the pronouncement of sentence§
55.
Where additional property is discovered after the pronouncement of sentence, which, had it been discovered before the pronouncement of sentence, could have been the subject of an application for its forfeiture in accordance with the provisions of this Section, the court that tried the offence may, upon an application by a prosecutor, order the forfeiture of the property, and the provisions of section 53 shall apply in that regard.
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Contact Us →Section B: Administrative Seizure and Forfeiture
Administrative seizure order§
56.
(a)In this Chapter, "administrative seizure order" — an administrative order for the seizure of property pursuant to this section.
(b)The Minister of Defence may, by order, direct the temporary seizure of property as detailed below, or the restriction of the use of or the restriction of the transfer of rights in such property, including the imposition of a surety to secure its production upon demand:
(1)property of a terrorist organisation or of a terrorist operative declared pursuant to sections 3, 4, 6 or 11, or property intended for the commission of a serious terrorism offence — if satisfied that this is necessary in order to thwart the activity of a terrorist organisation and to impair its capacity to promote its objectives, or in order to thwart a serious terrorism offence;
(2)property in which a serious terrorism offence was committed or which directly served in the commission of such an offence;
(3)property obtained as pay or as reward for the commission of a serious terrorism offence, or which was intended to be such pay or reward;
(4)property as referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3) that was discovered after the pronouncement of sentence, provided that a District Attorney or another senior prosecutor authorised by that District Attorney has given notice that it is not possible to forfeit the property as referred to in section 55, by reason of the inadmissibility or privilege of the evidence relating thereto, even though the District Attorney was satisfied as to the connection between the property and the offence.
(c)The Minister of Defence may, upon an application by the Head of the General Security Service or the head of another security authority through the Head of the General Security Service, issue an administrative seizure order also with respect to property of a body of persons that is not a declared terrorist organisation, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1)the head of the security authority submitted to the Minister, through the Head of the General Security Service, an application to declare that body of persons a terrorist organisation pursuant to the provisions of Section A of Chapter II, or gave notice to the Minister that the head of the security authority intends to submit such an application;
(2)there is reasonable ground to believe that the property is property of the terrorist organisation, that the facts and conditions for the forfeiture of property pursuant to this Chapter are met, and that the property in respect of which the order was requested is likely to disappear or that actions are likely to be taken in respect of it that would prevent the realisation of the forfeiture.
(d)For the purposes of this section, where the property is money —
(1)it shall make no difference whether that same money is seized or any other money found in the ownership, possession or control of, or in the bank account of, the person who received the money;
(2)where the property is pay or reward as referred to in subsection (b)(3), and no money equivalent in value to the consideration received as aforesaid is found, the Minister of Defence may seize other property of the person who received the pay or reward, to the value of the said consideration.
(e)For the purposes of this section —
(1)property seized at a border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which was not declared when there was a duty to declare it, without a permit that was required or where there was an attempt to conceal it and smuggle it, shall be presumed to be property as referred to in this section, unless the contrary is proved;
(2)property by means of which property as referred to in paragraph (1) was transferred or concealed shall be presumed to have directly served in the commission of a serious terrorism offence, unless the person in whose ownership, possession or control the property is found proves that that person did not know that property as referred to in paragraph (1) would be transferred or concealed by means of that person's property;
(3)"serious terrorism offence" — excluding an offence pursuant to section 31.
Restriction of administrative seizure where criminal proceedings are pending§
57.
(a)The Minister of Defence shall not order the seizure of property connected to a serious terrorism offence if a person has been questioned under caution with respect to that same offence to which the property is connected; where the Minister of Defence has ordered the seizure of property as aforesaid and a person is questioned under caution after the issuance of an administrative seizure order with respect to that same property, the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search) shall apply to the continued holding of the property, and the provisions of section 58 shall not apply; the six months referred to in section 35 of that Ordinance shall be counted from the day on which a person was questioned under caution.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the Minister of Defence may seize property as aforesaid if a District Attorney or another senior prosecutor authorised by that District Attorney has given notice that it is not possible to forfeit the property in criminal proceedings, even though the District Attorney was satisfied as to the connection between the property and the offence, by reason of one of the following:
(1)the inadmissibility or privilege of the evidence as to the connection between the property and the offence;
(2)there is no basis to file an indictment for the offence because the circumstances of the matter as a whole are not appropriate for prosecution, or because, despite the existence of significant evidence, that evidence does not constitute a sufficient evidentiary basis at the criminal standard for the filing of an indictment for the offence.
(c)Where a prosecutor as referred to in subsection (b) has given such notice, the provisions of section 58 shall again apply to the administrative seizure order in place of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search).
Period of validity of an administrative seizure order§
58.
(a)The validity of an administrative seizure order made pursuant to section 56 shall be for the period specified therein, which shall not exceed two years from the date on which the order was made; however, the Minister of Defence may extend the validity of the order until the date set out below, as the case may be and whichever is the later:
(1)where contentions were raised pursuant to section 61(a), or a petition was submitted to the administrative court — until the giving of a final decision or a final judgment, as the case may be;
(2)with regard to property that is property of a declared terrorist organisation —
(a)where the declaration of the terrorist organisation was a temporary declaration pursuant to section 4 and written contentions were submitted pursuant to section 5 — until a decision is made on a permanent declaration pursuant to section 6;
(b)where a petition was submitted to the Supreme Court against the declaration of the terrorist organisation — until the giving of a final judgment on the petition.
(b)Where the Minister of Defence has extended the period as referred to in subsection (a), and the proceedings referred to in that subsection have not resulted in a decision to cancel the administrative seizure order or the declaration, as the case may be, the Minister of Defence may extend the period of validity of the order for an additional period not exceeding 30 days for the purpose of issuing a forfeiture order as referred to in section 66.
(c)Where the validity of an administrative seizure order has expired and no forfeiture order or court decision concerning the continued holding of the seized property has been made, the property shall be returned to the person from whom it was seized.
(d)
(1)The validity of an administrative seizure order in respect of a terrorist organisation that has not yet been declared shall be for the period specified therein, which shall not exceed three months from the date on which the order was made, and the Minister of Defence may, for special reasons that shall be recorded, with the approval of the Attorney General or a person authorised by the Attorney General for this purpose, extend the period of validity from time to time for additional periods, provided that the total period of validity of the order shall not exceed four months from the date on which it was made;
(2)where it is declared that the body of persons is a terrorist organisation and a new administrative seizure order is made pursuant to section 56(b)(1) within the period referred to in paragraph (1), the validity of the seizure order shall expire upon the making of the new seizure order;
(3)where the Minister of Defence has decided not to declare the body of persons a terrorist organisation within the period referred to in paragraph (1), the validity of the seizure order pursuant to section 56(c) shall expire upon that decision, unless the Minister finds that another ground for an administrative seizure order as referred to in section 56(b)(2) or (3) exists; where the Minister of Defence finds as aforesaid, the administrative seizure order shall remain in force for one additional month or until the making of a new seizure order, whichever is the earlier.
Content of an administrative seizure order§
59.
(a)An administrative seizure order shall specify the property to which the order applies, or the type of such property, as well as the location of the property, all if known.
(b)Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Minister of Defence that property in respect of which an administrative seizure order may be issued is commingled with additional property that is not such property, and it is not possible in the circumstances of the matter to identify or separate it, the Minister may direct in the administrative seizure order that the additional property also be seized.
Restriction on seizure§
60.
The provisions of section 36c of the Drugs Ordinance shall apply, with the necessary modifications and with the modifications set out in section 53(2) and (3), to the seizure and forfeiture of property pursuant to this Section.
Hearing after Seizure§
61.
(a)Where an administrative seizure order has been issued, a person claiming a right in the property may, within two months from the day the order was issued, or if he received notice under subsection (b) — from the day he received the notice, submit his arguments before the Minister of Defence or a person authorised by him for that purpose; however, the Minister of Defence or a person authorised by him for that purpose may consider arguments submitted after the said time if he found that this is justified, for special reasons that shall be recorded; the Minister of Defence may leave the order in force, cancel it or vary its conditions.
(b)Notice of the issue of an administrative seizure order and of the right to a hearing as referred to in subsection (a) shall be given to a person claiming a right in the property, if he is known and it is possible to locate him and give him the notice with reasonable diligence.
(c)The Minister of Defence shall cancel or amend an administrative seizure order if he is satisfied that a person claiming a right in the property has proved his right in the property, and that one of the conditions listed in section 36c(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, as applied by section 60, has been fulfilled; the provisions of section 63(b) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the cancellation or amendment of a seizure order under this section.
Execution of an administrative seizure order§
62.
(a)An administrative seizure order may be executed by a public employee authorised for that purpose by the Prime Minister or the Minister of Defence, or by a police officer, and in respect of goods under customs supervision in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Ordinance [New Version] — it may also be executed by a customs officer authorised for that purpose by the Director of Customs and VAT.
(b)
(1)A public employee authorised for that purpose under the provisions of subsection (a), or a police officer, shall have, for the purpose of executing an administrative seizure order, the powers vested in a police officer for the purpose of executing a search order as set out in section 24(a)(1) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search) [New Version], 5729-1969, and the provisions of sections 26 to 29, 45 and 46 of that Ordinance shall apply to the execution of such an order, with the necessary modifications;
(2)A customs officer authorised for that purpose under the provisions of subsection (a) shall have, for the purpose of executing an administrative seizure order, the powers under sections 174, 177, 184 and 185 of the Customs Ordinance [New Version], and for that purpose the property suspected of being the property to which the administrative seizure order applies shall be regarded as goods whose import or export is prohibited.
(c)The provisions of sections 26 to 29, 32, 32a, 45 and 46 of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Arrest and Search) [New Version], 5729-1969 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, also in respect of property in relation to which an administrative seizure order may be issued; if the Minister of Defence has not issued an administrative seizure order within one month from the date of the seizure, the property shall be returned to the person from whom it was seized, however the Minister may extend the said period by an additional 15 days, for special reasons.
(d)
(1)If the person executing an administrative seizure order finds, at the time of execution of the seizure, that the property to be seized is commingled with other property and it is not possible in the circumstances of the matter to identify or separate it, or had reasonable grounds to believe that there is additional property that is property of the terrorist organisation or property connected to an offence, and which is not specified in the order, and it is not possible, in the circumstances of the matter, to obtain an amended order under section 63, that person may also seize the commingled property or the additional property;
(2)Notice of a seizure under paragraph (1) shall be given to the Minister of Defence within 72 hours of the time of execution of the seizure;
(3)If the Minister of Defence has not issued an amended order as set out in section 63 in respect of the commingled property or the additional property seized under paragraph (1), within two weeks of the time of its seizure, the property shall be returned to the person from whom it was seized.
Amendment of an Administrative Seizure Order§
63.
(a)Where an administrative seizure order has been issued under the provisions of this Chapter and, after the order was given or during its execution, additional property is discovered in respect of which there are reasonable grounds to believe that it is property of the terrorist organisation or intermingled property as referred to in section 62(d)(1), the Minister of Defence may issue an amended administrative seizure order; the provisions under this Chapter that apply to the original order shall apply also to the amended order, and for the purposes of sections 58 and 66, the periods under those sections shall be counted from the date of the issue of the original order.
(b)If the property seized under subsection (a) is intermingled property within the meaning of section 62(d)(1), the Minister of Defence may direct that part of the intermingled property shall not be seized by reason of the right of a person claiming a right in the property in that part, and he may also seize that part, subject to the giving of directions regarding payment to the person claiming a right in the property, in respect of his right as aforesaid.
Extended Administrative-Judicial Review§
64.
In a petition against a decision of the Minister of Defence under this Chapter, an Administrative Court may confirm the Minister's decision, vary it, cancel it or make a different decision in its place, and without derogating from the generality of the foregoing, the court may consider any consideration that the Minister was entitled to consider for that purpose.
Deviation from the Law of Evidence and Classified Evidence§
65.
(a)In legal proceedings concerning a decision of the Minister of Defence regarding an administrative seizure order or a forfeiture order, the court may, at the request of counsel for the Attorney General, deviate from the law of evidence, if it is satisfied, for reasons that shall be recorded, that this is necessary for the ascertainment of the truth and the doing of justice.
(b)In a hearing as referred to in subsection (a), the court may, at the request of counsel for the Attorney General, admit evidence even not in the presence of the other party or his counsel, or without disclosing it to them, if it is satisfied that disclosure of the evidence is likely to harm state security, its foreign relations, public peace or public safety, or to expose classified methods of work, and that the interest in non-disclosure outweighs the need to disclose it for the purpose of ascertaining the truth and doing justice (in this section — classified evidence); the court may, before making a decision under this subsection, examine the evidence and hear explanations not in the presence of the other party and his counsel.
(c)If the court decides to admit classified evidence, it shall notify the other party of its intention to do so, and it may direct that a summary of the classified evidence be transferred to the other party or his counsel, to the extent that this can be done without harming the interest by reason of which it was determined, under the provisions of subsection (b), that the evidence is classified.
(d)If the court decides not to accede to the request of counsel for the Attorney General as referred to in subsection (b), counsel for the Attorney General may give notice that he withdraws the submission of the evidence; if counsel for the Attorney General gives such notice, the court shall not take the evidence into account for the purpose of making its decision, and the evidence shall not be transferred to the other party or his counsel.
(e)A hearing on a request by counsel for the Attorney General to admit classified evidence under subsection (b) shall be held in camera, unless the court has determined otherwise in that regard.
Forfeiture of Seized Property§
66.
(a)Where an administrative seizure order has been issued, the Minister of Defence may order the forfeiture of all or part of the property in respect of which the order was issued, at the following times, whichever is the later:
(1)if arguments were submitted under section 61(a) in respect of the administrative seizure order — 45 days after the applicant was notified of the decision on his arguments, provided that a petition to the Administrative Court in respect of the decision has not been filed;
(2)if no arguments were submitted under section 61(a) in respect of the administrative seizure order — 90 days after the issue of the seizure order or after the giving of notice in respect of the order under section 61(b), whichever is the later;
(3)if a petition has been filed with an Administrative Court in respect of the administrative seizure order — 45 days after the giving of a judgment dismissing the petition, and if an appeal has been filed against the judgment — after the giving of a judgment dismissing the appeal;
(4)in respect of property of a terrorist organisation — after the organisation has been declared by a permanent declaration under section 6, and if a petition has been filed with the Supreme Court against the declaration of the terrorist organisation — after the giving of a judgment dismissing the petition;
(5)in respect of property connected to an offence —
(a)if an investigation under caution in connection with the offence has not been opened — 90 days after the issue of the administrative seizure order;
(b)if an investigation under caution in connection with the offence has been opened — one year after the issue of the administrative seizure order, provided that approval has been given by a District Attorney or a person authorised by him that it is not possible to forfeit the property within the framework of the criminal proceeding as referred to in section 57(b).
(b)If two years have elapsed from the date of the issue of an administrative seizure order and a forfeiture order has not been issued, the administrative seizure order shall lapse and the property shall be returned to the person from whom it was seized; however, if the validity of an administrative seizure order has been extended under section 58(a)(1) or (2), the provisions of section 58(b) shall apply in respect of the extension of the validity of the seizure order for the purpose of issuing a forfeiture order.
Seizure of Property under the Defence Regulations§
67.
(a)The power to seize property under regulation 74 of the Defence Regulations (Emergency), 1945, in respect of property that is property connected to a terrorist organisation or a terrorist offence, shall apply only in respect of property that may be seized or forfeited under the provisions of this Chapter; however, property seized under regulation 74 of those Regulations shall not be confiscated under the provisions of that regulation, and the provisions of this Chapter shall apply in respect of its forfeiture.
(b)
(1)If property was seized as referred to in subsection (a), and the Minister of Defence has not issued an administrative seizure order within one month from the day of the seizure, the property shall be returned to the person from whom it was seized; however, the Minister may extend that period by a further 15 days, for special reasons;
(2)If a person has been investigated under caution as referred to in section 57, the provisions of that section shall apply in respect of the continued holding of the property.
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