Israel's Ben-Gvir reveals construction site of gallows for convicted Palestinians

Video footage and facility specifications

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir published video footage on social media documenting the construction of an execution facility inside a high-security prison in central Israel. The recorded clip showed an active construction zone with bulldozers, foundational groundwork, wooden structures, and metal framing covered by a blue tarp. Ben-Gvir stated that the site would feature a gallows for hanging Palestinians convicted of terror offenses in military courts. The facility includes two-story viewing booths where surviving victims and their families will be allowed to watch the executions, an arrangement the minister compared to capital punishment procedures in the United States. Access to the observation rooms will be managed through specialized visitor permits.

I promised to worsen the conditions of terrorists in prisons, we kept it. I promised to pass the Death Penalty for Terrorists law, we did. And now the death row and hanging facility are also starting to take shape.

Legislative provisions and legal distinctions

The construction represents the implementation of the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, which was approved by the Knesset on 30 March 2026 by a vote of 62 to 48. Supported by Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party, the statute entered into force in May 2026 for West Bank Palestinians tried before military tribunals for deadly attacks. Under the legislation, military courts are required to impose capital punishment by hanging as the default sentence, with life imprisonment permitted only under special circumstances. The law permits death sentences without judicial unanimity or an explicit request from prosecutors, and it establishes a 90-day deadline following sentencing for carrying out executions. The framework applies exclusively to military courts and excludes Israeli citizens and settlers, who are tried in civilian courts, generating petitions before the High Court of Justice.

Oversight structure and historical context

Following its parliamentary passage, the law was incorporated into West Bank security regulations by Major General Avi Bluth, the head of IDF Central Command. In June 2026, Ben-Gvir appointed six relatives of terror victims from the Choosing Life Forum as official inspectors under the statute to monitor the treatment of condemned prisoners and oversee legal implementation. The minister, who has held his cabinet post since 2022 apart from a two-month gap last year, has previous convictions for incitement to racism, interfering with a police officer, and supporting the banned Kach movement. Israel has maintained capital punishment on its books for decades, but it has executed only one person in its history, hanging Nazi official Adolf Eichmann in 1962.

We are making history. Our terrorists deserve only one thing: death by hanging.

International response and prison conditions

The announcement follows growing international criticism of statements by Israeli officials regarding Palestinian casualties. Stéphane Dujarric, speaking on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, condemned Ben-Gvir's suggestions that Israel should kill dozens of Palestinians nightly in Gaza as dehumanizing and dangerous. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the rhetoric, while France and the European Commission also issued formal condemnations. At the same time, human rights groups have raised concerns over prison treatment across the country. According to records compiled by Physicians for Human Rights Israel, at least 104 Palestinian detainees have died in custody since 7 October 2023, with the organization citing medical neglect, physical mistreatment, and food deprivation.