An Israeli parliamentary committee on Tuesday advanced a bill to introduce the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners, with final votes expected as early as next week.
The legislation, initiated by MP Limor Son Har-Melech of the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, passed its first reading in November. Second and third readings are now expected in the coming days, according to Israeli media.
The Knesset’s National Security Committee approved the bill despite more than 1,000 objections submitted against it. Its wording was reportedly softened last week following security concerns over its implications.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli military believes the bill violates international law and could expose commanders to potential arrest warrants.
Under the revised text, judges would be able to choose between capital punishment and life imprisonment for those convicted of “intentionally causing the death of a person as part of an act of terror”. The death penalty would not require a unanimous verdict.
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Executions would be carried out by hanging by the Israel Prison Service within 90 days of sentencing, with no possibility of a pardon.
Israeli media have reported that preparations and training for carrying out executions have already begun, despite the bill not yet being formally enacted.
Channel 13 previously reported that the law would initially target Palestinians accused of belonging to Hamas’s Nukhba unit who took part in the October 2023 attacks, with those accused of major attacks in the occupied West Bank likely to follow.
‘Historic day’
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a leading advocate of the bill, described its approval as a “historic day in the State of Israel”.
“Whoever chooses to kill Jews simply because they are Jews – their punishment is one: death. There will no longer be an open cycle of operations, imprisonment, and release,” he said.
Ben Gvir argued the law would deter Israel’s enemies, pledging to pursue an “uncompromising policy” against terrorism.
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However, several opposition Knesset members, along with Israeli legal and security experts, have raised objections, describing the bill as “extreme” and potentially unconstitutional, with serious legal repercussions.
While Israeli law currently allows the death penalty in certain rare cases, rights groups have strongly opposed the new bill, citing Israel’s widespread arrests of Palestinians on vague terrorism charges and a surge in reports of torture and deaths since the start of the genocide in Gaza.
A dozen UN experts last month urged Israel to withdraw the legislation, warning that “mandatory death sentences are contrary to the right to life”.
They also condemned the potential use of hanging, saying it “amounts to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment under international law”.
They also expressed concern that the bill would apply in a discriminatory manner against Palestinians only.
“We urge Israel to put an end to the death penalty, in line with the global trend towards abolition,” they said.
Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups say the bill is an “unprecedented act of savagery”.
They accuse Israel of seeking to legalise the ongoing killing of prisoners, saying its approval “is no longer surprising given the unprecedented level of brutality practised by the occupation system”.