By Julia Frankel
Jerusalem, March 30
Israel’s parliament is preparing to vote on a controversial bill that would make the death penalty the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis.
The bill, debated on Monday ahead of parliament’s spring recess, is being seen as a major push by Israel’s far-right to impose harsher punishment on Palestinians convicted of attacks against Israelis.
The legislation has been championed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose party introduced the proposal. Ben-Gvir has publicly backed the bill by wearing a small noose pin on his lapel, symbolising the execution method proposed under the law.
“With God’s help, we will fully implement this law and kill our enemies,” Ben-Gvir said after the bill cleared a key stage before the final vote.
Critics, including rights groups, opposition lawmakers and the United Nations, have described the proposed law as discriminatory, harsh and unlikely to stop militant attacks.
Under the bill, military courts would be required to sentence West Bank Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis “as an act of terror” to death, unless special circumstances justify life imprisonment.
Israeli civilian courts, however, would still be able to choose between life imprisonment and the death penalty in similar cases.
Critics argue this creates a separate legal standard that would mostly target Palestinians, while Jewish Israelis accused of similar crimes would not face the same punishment.
The bill also states that executions should be carried out within 90 days of sentencing and does not allow clemency.
Israel technically still has the death penalty for crimes such as genocide, wartime espionage and certain terror offences, but the country has not executed anyone since Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962.
Some opposition lawmakers fear the bill could complicate future hostage negotiations with Palestinian groups, while security officials have previously warned that executions could trigger further violence and revenge attacks.
