Israel’s parliament on Monday approved a controversial bill to reintroduce the death penalty for terrorists, a move considered racist by critics as the legislation would effectively only apply to Palestinians.
Under the bill, Palestinians convicted of murder as an act of terrorism by military courts in the occupied territories would face a mandatory death sentence. In the event of a conviction, the death penalty is to be carried out within 90 days by hanging, administered by a prison guard.
In civilian courts in Israel, meanwhile, a person convicted of murder with a terrorism motive with the aim of destroying the State of Israel could be sentenced either to death or to life imprisonment under the law.
Due to a prohibition on retroactive application, the new law cannot be applied to Hamas terrorists who were involved in the attacks on October 7, 2023.
The bill was introduced by the Otzma Yehudit party of far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.
A total of 62 of 120 lawmakers in the Knesset backed the bill in a final vote on Monday, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A total of 48 lawmakers voted against the bill, while the rest abstained or were not present for the vote.
Rights organizations and several European countries had called for the initiative to be stopped.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel swiftly announced that it had filed a lawsuit against the bill with the country’s highest court, describing the move as “the most violent and extreme expression of this government’s attack on human rights.”
Ben-Gvir described it as the most important bill of recent years. The Knesset’s national security committee recently approved the draft for its second and third readings.
The committee chairman, Zvika Fogel, said the bill marked an “important step towards restoring the State of Israel’s deterrence.”
Israel abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954. Israeli law still allowed the death penalty to be imposed in certain cases, such as against Nazi criminals or for treason in wartime.
However, the execution of German Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962 was the last time a death sentence handed down by a regular court in Israel was actually carried out.
European countries appealed to Israel in vain
The foreign ministers from Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom had expressed their “deep concern” about the bill in a joint statement on Sunday and appealed to those responsible to abandon the plans.
“The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect. This is why we oppose the death penalty, whatever the circumstances around the world,” the statement said.
The bill also faced opposition in Israel. In an expert opinion, the Israeli Democracy Institute criticized it for forcing judges in military courts to impose the death penalty and for depriving them of the necessary case-by-case assessment.
The law contradicts Israel’s democratic and rule-of-law values because it is directed solely against Palestinians, the institute said.
It added that it could result in irreversible miscarriages of justice and cause Israel political harm, while experts believe it will not effectively aid the fight against terrorism.
The secretary general of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, expressed shock over the passing of the law, describing it as a severe step backwards for civilization in a post on X.
The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, is not an EU body. It monitors the rule of law and compliance with human rights in its 46 member states, and also advocates the abolishment of the death penalty.
Israel is a party to various agreements and cooperation schemes, and the Knesset has held observer status at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 1957, according to the organization.