Israel passes controversial law allowing death penalty for Palestinians convicted of 'lethal attacks'
The law only applies to West Bank Palestinians convicted of 'lethal attacks' against Israelis – a stipulation which has been branded as 'inherently discriminatory'
Israel has passed a law which will make the death penalty by hanging the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis in "acts of terror".
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Many groups have been quick to condemn the legislation, including the UK, Germany, France and Italy, which said in a joint declaration that it would “significantly expand the possibilities for imposing the death penalty”.
The allies called the law "de facto discriminatory" and said that by passing it, "Israel risks undermining its commitments to democratic principles".
The four nations added the death penalty "is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterrent effect", and that rejecting it "is a fundamental value that unites us".
"We urge the Israeli decision makers in Knesset and Government to abandon these plans," it concluded.
Israel's hard-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvirm – who wore noose-shaped lapel pins in the run-up to the vote – has campaigned for tougher punishments for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offences against Israelis.
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"We have made history. Any terrorist who goes out to kill should know - he will be sent to the gallows," Ben-Gvirm said in a post on X.
He also seemingly responded to criticism from the four European nations, adding: "We are not afraid, we will not submit".
The bill stipulates executions should be carried out within 90 days of sentencing and will be applied by a military court to anyone convicted of murdering an Israeli "as an act of terror".
Military courts try only West Bank Palestinians, who are not Israeli citizens.
The bill also says the courts can change the penalty to life imprisonment in "special circumstances".
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the law "constitutes a decision to carry out institutionalised extrajudicial killings according to racist standards".
It added: "The ministry affirms that Israel has no sovereignty over Palestinian land and that Israeli laws do not apply to the Palestinian people."
Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute's Centre for Democratic Values and Institutions, said the distinction is discriminatory as it means, in effect, Jewish people "will not be indicted under this law".
More than 9,300 Palestinians – including 350 children and 66 women – are currently held in Israeli jails, according to the Israeli Prison Service.
The bill does not apply retroactively to any of the prisoners Israel currently holds who attacked the country on 7 October 2023.
Israel has not carried out an execution since Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was put to death in 1962.