The Israeli parliament passed a draft law that would allow the punishment of death for terrorists.
On Monday, 62 of the 120 members of the Knesset voted in favour of the highly controversial proposal from the right‑wing party Otzma Yehudit, backed by the party’s police minister, Itamar Ben‑Gvir. Forty‑eight members voted against it, and the remaining representatives were either absent or abstained. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also lent his support.
Critics have labelled the bill racist, arguing that it effectively targets only Palestinians. Germany and several other European nations have condemned the measure. According to the draft, a person convicted of a terrorist‑motivated murder with the objective of destroying the State of Israel could receive either the death penalty or life imprisonment in civilian courts. Because of the prohibition on retroactive application, the new law cannot be applied to Hamas terrorists involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.
The Israeli Democracy Institute warned that the law would force military judges to impose the death penalty, stripping them of the necessary case‑by‑case review. It claims the measure runs counter to Israel’s democratic and rule‑of‑law values, could lead to irreversible judicial errors, and may harm Israel’s international standing. Experts also doubt the legislation’s effectiveness in combating terrorism.
