Israel’s new death penalty law is “cruel” and will unfairly target Palestinians, human rights organisations have warned.
The Knesset, Israel’s legislature, passed a law on Monday which would make death by hanging a default sentence for terrorism-related offences, particularly impacting West Bank Palestinians. The death penalty for ordinary crimes has been abolished in Israel since 1954 and the country has not carried out executions since 1962.
The passage of the bill marks the culmination of a years long drive by the Israeli far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offences against Israelis.
It will also give Israeli courts the option to impose the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted of similar charges, although legal experts have warned the language of the bill effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens.
The law will not apply retroactively to any prisoners Israel currently holds, including the Hamas-led militants who attacked the country on October 7, 2023.
Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said that the death penalty entrenched discrimination and established a two-tiered justice system.
“Israeli officials argue that the imposing the death penalty is about security, but in reality, it entrenches discrimination and a two-tiered system of justice, both hallmarks of apartheid,” he said. “The death penalty is irreversible and cruel. Combined with its severe restrictions on appeals and its 90-day execution timeline, this bill aims to kill Palestinian detainees faster and with less scrutiny.”
A Knesset legal advisor, Ido Ben-Itzhak, also criticised the bill prior to its passing, arguing that it "does not provide for the pardon of a person sentenced to death, which contradicts international conventions and could lead to complications."
The passage of the bill was also criticised by Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, who claimed that the state already killed Palestinians systematically without any accountability.
B'Tselem executive director Yuli Novak said: "Israel is reaching a new low in the dehumanisation of Palestinians, enshrining their cruel treatment in state law... Under the leadership of top ministers, the Israeli system is day by day becoming a system that normalises the killing and injury of human beings."
The organisation estimated that the military courts, where only Palestinians are tried, have a 96 per cent conviction rate based largely on “confessions” extracted under duress and torture during interrogations.
Amnesty International, calling for the bill to be repealed, observed the legislation was passed the same month that charges were dropped against Israeli soldiers for sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director of research, advocacy, policy and campaigns said: “It speaks volumes to the extent of Israel’s dehumanisation of Palestinians that this law has passed in the same month in which Israeli military attorney general dropped all charges against Israeli soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee – a decision celebrated by the Prime Minister and several ministers.”
As the bill passed on Monday with a final 62-48 vote in favour, lawmakers erupted into cheers and stood up in jubilation. Far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir brought a champagne bottle into the Israeli parliament to celebrate.
“Israel is changing the rules of the game today: Whoever murders Jews will not continue to breathe and enjoy prison conditions,” he said.
The Israel Prison Service has already begun preparing designated facilities for execution. Since October 2023, authorities say Israel has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and at least 1,050 Palestinians in the West Bank.
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