Israel’s parliament passed legislation on Monday authorizing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israeli citizens in the occupied West Bank, a move condemned by multiple European governments as discriminatory and a potential breach of international law.
The law, approved by a vote of 69 to 45, mandates the death penalty by hanging as the default punishment for such offenses, to be carried out by military courts. These courts operate exclusively in the West Bank and try Palestinians, who are not Israeli citizens. Israeli citizens, including Palestinian citizens of Israel, are tried in civilian courts where the death penalty remains a possible, though rarely applied, sentence for murder.
The United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy issued a joint statement calling the legislation “de facto discriminatory” and warning that it “risks undermining Israel’s commitments to democratic principles.” The statement further described the death penalty as “an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterrent effect.” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper echoed the sentiment on X, stating simply, “The death penalty is wrong and we oppose it around the world.”
The bill’s passage follows a sustained campaign by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has long advocated for harsher punishments for Palestinians convicted of offenses against Israelis. Ben-Gvir, who was photographed wearing a noose-shaped lapel pin in the lead-up to the vote, celebrated the law’s approval on X, declaring, “We have made history. Any terrorist who goes out to kill should grasp – he will be sent to the gallows.” He dismissed criticism from the European Union, stating, “We are not afraid, we do not yield.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the law as a “decision to carry out institutionalized extrajudicial killings according to racist standards.” The ministry asserted that Israel has no sovereignty over Palestinian land and therefore no legal authority to impose its laws on Palestinians.
Critics within Israel and the international community have raised concerns that the law is deliberately discriminatory and unlikely to deter attacks. Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute’s Centre for Democratic Values and Institutions, pointed out that the law’s structure effectively excludes Jewish citizens from being prosecuted under its provisions. “Jews will not be indicted under this law,” Cohen stated. He also emphasized that, under international law, Israel’s parliament lacks the authority to legislate over the West Bank, which is not considered sovereign Israeli territory.
The Association of Civil Rights in Israel has filed a petition with the country’s highest court challenging the law, describing it as “discriminatory by design” and “enacted without legal authority” over West Bank Palestinians.
Israel has the death penalty enshrined in its legal code, but has not carried out an execution since the trial and hanging of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962. The latest law will not be applied retroactively to militants currently held by Israel who participated in the October 7th attacks.
The legislation stipulates that executions must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing, though military courts retain the discretion to commute the penalty to life imprisonment in “special circumstances.” The law applies specifically to murders committed “as an act of terror,” a definition that has drawn criticism for its potential breadth, and ambiguity.
