The Israeli Knesset began a session on Monday morning to vote on a draft law seeking to impose the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners, following its earlier approval by the Knesset’s National Security Committee.
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On Tuesday, the committee passed the bill, which mandates the death penalty for anyone who "intentionally causes the death of a person in an act classified as terrorism," while explicitly stipulating that such sentences cannot be pardoned or commuted later.
According to the draft text, the penalty is mandatory and does not require judicial consensus. Executions are to be carried out by hanging through the Israel Prison Service within a period not exceeding 90 days from the date of sentencing.
The bill aims to "establish the death penalty for perpetrators of killings classified as terrorist acts." This includes anyone who "intentionally causes the death of a person with the intent to harm a citizen or resident of Israel, or motivated by the denial of the state's existence," limiting the punishment strictly to death or life imprisonment.
The draft includes a distinction in its application between Israel and the occupied West Bank. It stipulates the death penalty as the primary option in the West Bank, granting military courts the exceptional authority to impose life imprisonment only under "special circumstances." Furthermore, it grants the so-called "Minister of Security" the power to determine the judicial body competent to try the accused.
The bill also allows the Israeli Prime Minister the authority to request a stay of execution in "special circumstances" for a period not exceeding 180 days, despite the standard 90-day execution deadline.
In this context, more than 9,300 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children and 66 women. According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, these prisoners suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which have led to the deaths of dozens.
Several countries have expressed their rejection of the bill, warning of its grave implications and risks to human rights.
The prisoner execution bill is not new; it has been introduced repeatedly over recent years. It was most recently revived in 2022 by the extremist minister Ben-Gvir with a series of amendments, eventually passing its preliminary reading in the Knesset in March 2023.
