A law which will allow Israel to imprison terrorists under the age of 14 was voted on in the Knesset today, and was passed into law.

The new age limit has been set at 12 years old.

“The ‘Youth Bill,’ which will allow the authorities to imprison a minor convicted of serious crimes such as murder, attempted murder or manslaughter even if he or she is under the age of 14, passed its second and third readings… Tuesday night,” Anat Berko (Likud) announced in an official statement.

The law was proposed during the beginning of the terror wave, after terrorists as young as 13 or 14 began to commit stabbing attacks in Jerusalem.

As the violence escalated, the Knesset realized it needed more severe tools to handle these pre-planned and murderous attempts – by children. In Berko’s words, the seriousness of the attacks in recent months “demands a more aggressive approach, including toward minors.”

“To those who are murdered with a knife in the heart, it does not matter if the child is 12 or 15.”

34 Israelis, two Americans, and an Eritrean have been killed in Palestinian terror attacks since October 2015, according to AFP. Many more suffered injuries.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked gave the “Youth Bill” full backing when it came before a ministerial committee in 2015.

“Youths, such as Ahmed Manasra, who engage in terror and seek the death of Jewish civilians will not be shown mercy by the law,” she said.

Manasra was convicted in May of the attempted murder, together with his 15 year-old cousin, of two Israelis in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem. He was 13 at the time, underage for imprisonment. He has since turned 14, and has not yet been sentenced.