Israel's Knesset Approves Death Penalty for Palestinians Convicted of Lethal Attacks

Israel's parliament passed a law on Monday making the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of lethal attacks, fulfilling a central demand of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies. The Knesset approved the legislation in its final reading with Knesset votes for the death penalty law">62 votes in favor and 48 against. Netanyahu personally attended the chamber and cast his vote in support of the measure. The law was the primary legislative project of the Otzma Yehudit party, led by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who celebrated in the chamber with applause and attempted to open a bottle of champagne before being stopped by an aide. Under the law's text, capital punishment applies to anyone who "intentionally causes the death of a person in the context of a terrorist act, with the intent to deny the existence of the State of Israel."

Law targets Palestinians, explicitly excludes Israeli citizens In practice, the legislation creates a two-tier legal structure: Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank tried before Israeli military courts face the death penalty as the mandatory default sentence for lethal attacks classified as terrorism, while Israeli civilian courts retain the option of imposing either the death penalty or life imprisonment for Israeli citizens convicted of equivalent offenses. The law explicitly excludes Israeli citizens who kill Palestinians from its scope. Executions are to be carried out by hanging within 90 days of a final conviction, though the verdict can be appealed. The law also removes the previous requirement of judicial unanimity, allowing a simple majority of two out of three judges to impose a death sentence. Crucially, the legislation carries no retroactive effect, meaning it cannot be applied to those responsible for the October 7, 2023 attacks. Condemned prisoners are to be held in separate facilities, with legal consultations permitted only by videoconference.

Israel has applied the death penalty only once in its modern history: the 1962 execution of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann by hanging. The death penalty has technically remained on Israel's books for a narrow category of offenses including genocide and war crimes, but the legal threshold for its application has been extremely high, requiring unanimous agreement among a panel of three judges. Since the Six-Day War of 1967, the West Bank has been governed under Israeli military administration, meaning Palestinian residents there are subject to military ordinances rather than Israeli civil law. The current legislation lowers the judicial threshold and makes capital punishment the default sentence in military courts, a change critics say will disproportionately affect the Palestinian population.

„We made history. We promised it and we kept it. The death penalty law for terrorists has become part of the legal system of the State of Israel.” — Itamar Ben-Gvir via Il Fatto Quotidiano

European ministers condemn law as inhumane and discriminatory The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Sunday, the day before the vote, expressing deep concern and calling on Israel to abandon the legislation. The four ministers described the death penalty as "a form of inhumane and degrading punishment, with no deterrent effect whatsoever" and warned that the law's approval "would significantly broaden the scope of the death penalty in Israel." They characterized the bill as "de facto discriminatory" in its nature toward Palestinians and argued it risked undermining Israel's commitments to democratic principles. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was among the signatories of the joint statement. The Council of Europe had previously called for the bill to be abandoned, and a group of 12 United Nations human rights experts had in February demanded Israel withdraw the proposal, describing it as illegal and discriminatory against Palestinians.

„We are particularly concerned by the de facto discriminatory nature of this bill. Its approval would put Israel's commitments to democratic principles at risk.” — Foreign Ministers of Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom via Publico

Supreme Court challenge filed within minutes of passage The Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court within minutes of the law's passage, challenging its constitutionality. The organization described the law as "unconstitutional, discriminatory by nature and, for Palestinians in the West Bank, passed without legal basis." Inside the Knesset, opposition lawmaker Matti Sarfatti of the Yesh Atid party called the law "populist, immoral, non-equal" and "clearly unconstitutional" during the parliamentary debate. The coalition itself was not fully unified: one ultra-Orthodox party voted against the measure. The opposition party Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, broke ranks with other opposition factions and supported the law. Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations described the legislation as racist and draconian, and expressed doubt that it would deter future attacks.

Death penalty threshold — before and after the law: Judicial majority required to impose death sentence (before: Unanimous agreement of three judges, after: Simple majority — two out of three judges); Sentence for Palestinians in military courts (before: Death penalty possible but not mandatory, after: Death penalty is the default mandatory sentence); Retroactive application (before: Not applicable, after: No retroactive effect — does not apply to October 7, 2023 perpetrators)