The Israeli Knesset approved in its first reading on Monday evening a bill proposing the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
The vote saw 39 Knesset members in favor and 16 against. The bill must pass a second and third reading to become law.
اضافة اعلان
The Knesset had postponed the vote on November 5, 2025, due to concerns by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over the law’s passage amid a coalition crisis with the Haredi parties.
On September 29, a Knesset parliamentary committee approved the bill, paving the way for the first reading. The legislation is part of agreements made to form the coalition government led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben-Gvir of Otzma Yehudit in late 2022.
The execution bill is not new, having been proposed multiple times in previous years. The last attempt was in 2022, when Ben-Gvir reintroduced it with amendments, leading to Knesset approval of the preliminary reading in March 2023.
The bill stipulates imposing the death penalty on anyone who, intentionally or through negligence, causes the death of an Israeli citizen out of racial motivation or hatred, and to harm Israel.
The push for this far-right legislation comes amid what is described as an ongoing genocidal war by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7, 2023.
