Israel Enacts Controversial Death Penalty Law for Terror Convictions
Israel’s parliament has passed a contentious new law authorising the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terror-related offences resulting in deadly attacks. The legislation, championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, has drawn sharp criticism from international bodies and human rights organisations, who decry it as discriminatory and inhumane.
The vote saw 62 lawmakers in favour and 48 against. Minister Ben Gvir, who had openly displayed his support with a lapel pin shaped like a noose leading up to the vote, declared on social media platform X, “We made history!!! We promised. We delivered.” He further stated to lawmakers, “From today, every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever takes a life, the State of Israel will take their life.”
This new law establishes hanging as the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of so-called “nationalistic killings.” Crucially, it also offers Israeli courts the option to impose the death penalty on Israeli citizens for similar charges. However, legal experts argue that the specific wording effectively confines the application of this ultimate penalty to Palestinian citizens of Israel, while excluding Jewish citizens from its reach.
Key Provisions of the New Legislation
The enacted bill outlines that in Israeli criminal courts, any individual who “intentionally causes the death of a person with the aim of harming an Israeli citizen or resident out of an intention to put an end to the existence of the State of Israel shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.” Criminal courts are responsible for trying Israeli nationals, a category that includes Palestinian citizens and residents of East Jerusalem.
The law stipulates that executions, carried out by hanging, must occur within 90 days of sentencing, with a provision for a potential postponement of up to 180 days. The sentence can be reduced to life imprisonment under “special circumstances.”
Concerns of Discrimination and Legal Authority
Immediately following the bill’s passage, the Association of Civil Rights in Israel announced its intention to petition the nation’s highest court to challenge the law. The organisation contends that the legislation is “discriminatory by design” and appears to contravene Israel’s Basic Laws, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. Furthermore, they argue that parliament acted “without legal authority” in legislating over West Bank Palestinians, who are not Israeli citizens.
The Association highlights that while military courts, which have jurisdiction over West Bank Palestinians, now face a near-mandatory death sentence provision, civilian courts are presented with a different scenario. The law’s requirement for defendants to have acted “with the aim of negating the existence” of Israel effectively “structurally excludes Jewish perpetrators,” according to the rights group.
Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute’s Center for Democratic Values and Institutions, echoed these concerns, stating that under international law, Israel’s parliament should not be legislating within the West Bank, which is not recognised as sovereign Israeli territory.
Opposition and International Condemnation
During parliamentary debates, opposition lawmaker and former deputy Mossad director Ram Ben Barak expressed strong disapproval. He questioned the implications of having “one law for Arabs in Judea and Samaria, and a different law for the general public for which the State of Israel is responsible?” He argued that the legislation signified a defeat, stating, “It says that Hamas has defeated us. It has defeated us because we have lost all our values.”
The international community has largely condemned the move. The foreign ministers of Australia, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy jointly urged Israel to reconsider, labelling the law “de facto discriminatory” and asserting that the death penalty is unethical and lacks a deterrent effect. The Council of Europe described the adoption of the law as a “serious regression.”
The Palestinian Authority vehemently condemned the law, asserting that “Israel has no sovereignty over Palestinian land.” They characterised the law as an attempt to “legitimise extrajudicial killing under legislative cover,” further exposing what they described as the “nature of the Israeli colonial system.”
The Two-Tiered Application of the Law
Experts point to two primary elements within the legislation that are expected to limit the death penalty’s application predominantly to Palestinians.
Firstly, the bill designates the death penalty as a default punishment for nationalistic killings in military courts. These courts exclusively handle cases involving West Bank Palestinians, excluding Israeli citizens. Military judges can only deviate from this sentence to life imprisonment under exceptional circumstances.
In contrast, Israeli civilian courts are granted more discretion, with judges having the choice between the death penalty and life imprisonment.
Secondly, the definition of the offence punishable by death is crucial. The law targets killings motivated by a “wish to undermine the existence of Israel.” This specific wording, according to Cohen, means “Jews will not be indicted under this law.”
While Israel technically retains the death penalty for severe crimes such as genocide, wartime espionage, and certain terror offences, the country has not carried out an execution since 1962, when Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was put to death.
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