Israel’s parliament has approved legislation making death by hanging the default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks, a measure promoted by far-right allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has drawn condemnation from Western governments, rights groups and Palestinian leaders.
The bill passed the Knesset on Monday with 62 votes in favour. Critics say the law is discriminatory by design: while it applies to anyone convicted of deliberately causing death with the intent of “ending Israel’s existence”, its provisions in practice target Palestinians tried in West Bank military courts rather than Jewish Israeli citizens who commit similar crimes.
Foreign ministers from Germany, France, Italy and Britain had already criticised the bill before the vote, saying it had a “de facto discriminatory” character and undermined Israel’s democratic principles.
The measure was championed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose Jewish Power party had made capital punishment for Palestinian militants a central campaign pledge. Ben-Gvir wore noose-shaped lapel pins in the run-up to the vote.
“This is a day of justice for the murdered, a day of deterrence for enemies,” Ben-Gvir said in parliament. “Whoever chooses terror chooses death.”
No clemency, 90-day execution window
Under the law, executions must be carried out by hanging within 90 days of sentencing, with limited allowance for delay and no right to clemency. Life imprisonment may be substituted only in unspecified “special circumstances”. Israel abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954; the only execution following a civilian trial was that of Adolf Eichmann in 1962.
Netanyahu voted in favour of the bill but sought to soften some of its elements ahead of the vote, Israeli media reported. The revised legislation — down from an earlier version that had mandated the death sentence without exception — now includes the option of life imprisonment.
Palestinian and international condemnation
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the law as a breach of international law, while Hamas and Islamic Jihad called on Palestinians to carry out attacks in response.
Israel’s leading human rights organisations described the legislation as “an act of institutionalised discrimination and racist violence against Palestinians.” The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said it had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, and legal professionals have argued the bill is unconstitutional — raising the possibility that the court could strike it down.
A group of United Nations experts warned that the law’s vague definitions of “terrorism” could see the death penalty applied to conduct that does not constitute a genuine terrorist act. Amnesty International, which monitors capital punishment globally, said there is no evidence that the death penalty reduces crime more effectively than life imprisonment.
Israeli rights group B’Tselem says military courts in the West Bank, where the law would primarily apply, carry a 96% conviction rate and a history of extracting confessions through torture.
(Reuters)