Israel begins building gallows and observation rooms for executions of Palestinians

Execution facility construction

Israeli authorities have started building an execution installation equipped with gallows and spectator areas inside a prison wing in central Israel. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced the development in a video released on his social media channels on Tuesday, standing in front of a construction site that featured a timber and iron structure beneath a blue tent. The project includes enclosed observation rooms with glass windows designed to allow victims of attacks and their relatives to watch hangings in person. Ben-Gvir compared the viewing system to procedures in the United States and stated that the ministry will provide official visitor permits to eligible family members. The exact location of the penitentiary facility in central Israel has not been disclosed publicly.

Legislative framework and military orders

The construction gives operational effect to a capital punishment law passed by the Knesset on 30 March 2026. Under the legislation, military courts are required to impose death by hanging for individuals convicted of fatal acts of terrorism, requiring executions to take place within 90 days of sentencing. Because the military court system applies to Palestinian residents in the occupied West Bank while Israeli citizens and settlers are tried in civilian courts, the statute applies to Palestinian defendants. In May 2026, Major General Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military Central Command, issued military orders introducing the capital punishment provisions into West Bank security regulations.

Oversight appointments and legal petitions

In June 2026, Ben-Gvir appointed six relatives of terror victims from the Choosing Life Forum organization to serve as official inspectors. These appointees were given authority to monitor detention conditions in the death row wing and oversee the procedural execution of the law.

Nobody deserves more than the families who paid the highest price in the fight against terrorism to be part of the mechanism supervising the enforcement of the law.

The legislation remains under review before the Supreme Court of Israel following a legal petition filed in April 2026 that challenges its constitutionality. In early June 2026, Arab members of the Knesset moved to join the lawsuit, arguing that the statute breaches the right to life.

Political campaign and historical precedent

The construction represents the first dedicated death row infrastructure in Israeli history, with the country's only previous judicial execution being that of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann in 1962. Ben-Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, presented the facility ahead of scheduled autumn legislative elections. In a podcast discussion with Rom Braslavski, a former soldier abducted by Hamas on 7 October 2023, Ben-Gvir suggested allowing Braslavski to conduct executions personally and advocated killing 30 to 40 people each night in Gaza. The minister also noted that since taking office in late 2022, he has eliminated former prison amenities such as televisions, table tennis tables, and meat distributions.