Israel’s new death penalty law: What it is and why it’s facing global criticism - Explained

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described the new law as a ‘dangerous escalation’, pushing back strongly in a social media statement.

Israel has passed a new legislation that makes the death penalty by hanging a default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of terrorist acts or killing Israelis. The law has drawn ire not only from Palestine but also from the European Union and the United Nations. The law, championed by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was passed in Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, by 62-48 votes. The legislation applies exclusively to Palestinians, who are tried in military courts, while Israeli citizens are tried in civilian courts.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described the new law as a ‘dangerous escalation’, pushing back strongly in a social media statement. It reiterated that Israel has no sovereign claim over land in the occupied Palestinian territories. The move has also drawn sharp criticism from human rights organisations and Palestinian leaders, who say the law — which allows the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks — is discriminatory and goes against international law.

What is the death penalty law?

The law says that people in the West Bank who kill an Israeli "with the intent to negate the existence of the State of Israel" will face the death penalty. Judges may impose life imprisonment only under vaguely defined "special circumstances," while executions must take place within 90 days of sentencing.

The law requires only a simple majority of judges to hand down the sentence and removes any right of appeal. It is designed to apply to future cases and will not be applied retroactively, including to perpetrators of the 2023 Hamas-led attacks on October 7, whose prosecution will be addressed under a separate bill.

"This is a day of justice for the victims and a day of deterrence for our enemies. No more revolving door for terrorists, but a clear decision. Whoever chooses terrorism chooses death," said Ben Gvir.

What was the earlier law?

Previously, capital punishment could only be imposed under narrowly defined circumstances and required a unanimous judicial panel, a threshold never met in terrorism cases. While Israel formally allows the death penalty, executions have been extremely rare, with only one carried out - the 1962 hanging of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

A separate provision allows the death penalty for anyone who "intentionally causes the death of a person with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel," a definition critics say effectively excludes Jewish perpetrators.

World Bodies Condemn The Law

The law has drawn condemnation from Palestinian authorities and international bodies. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it "a crime and a dangerous escalation in the occupation's policies". It said that Israeli laws do not apply to Palestinians and that the legislation "reveals the nature of the Israeli colonial system, which seeks to legitimise extrajudicial killing under legislative cover."

UN Human Rights Palestine said, "Israel must immediately repeal the discriminatory death penalty law passed today by the Knesset, as it contravenes Israel's obligations under international law. The United Nations opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. The implementation of this new law would violate international law's prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. Additionally, this law further entrenches Israel's violation of the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid as it will exclusively apply to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Israel, who are often convicted after unfair trials."

Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, added, "Our government, together with those of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, through a joint statement, has requested the Israeli government to withdraw the bill that introduces the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners convicted of terrorism. The commitments undertaken, especially with the resolutions voted on at the United Nations, for a moratorium on the death penalty, cannot be disregarded. For us, life is an absolute value; arrogating to oneself the right to take it away in order to inflict a punishment is an inhuman measure that violates the dignity of the person."

Earlier in the year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Israeli authorities to drop plans for mandatory death sentences exclusively for Palestinians, saying such proposals violate international law and discriminate against Palestinians. Turk further stressed that the law conflicts with Israel's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He highlighted concerns over the mandatory nature of the death sentences, which remove judicial discretion and violate the right to life, and criticised the discriminatory targeting of Palestinians.

“This legislation makes the world that much more dangerous of a place to be a Jew. That this only applies to Palestinians belies the penological intent of the death penalty. This is a Shanda," said Abraham Bonowitz, cofounder of L'chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty.

The UN High Commissioner noted that military courts in the occupied West Bank would be required to impose the death penalty for all convictions of intentional killing, while amendments to Israeli Penal Law would also allow capital punishment for killing Israelis in terrorist attacks. He warned that retroactive application to perpetrators of the October 7, 2023, attacks would breach the principle of legality under international law.