JERUSALEM, Israel — Israel’s parliament has approved the first reading of a bill that would impose the death penalty on individuals convicted of terrorism targeting the state—a measure widely seen as likely to apply primarily to Palestinians involved in deadly attacks on Israelis.
The vote, held late Monday in the 120-seat Knesset, saw 39 members in favour and 16 against. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose Jewish Power party sponsored the legislation, celebrated by handing out sweets.
“After the law is finally passed, terrorists will only be released to hell,” he said. The bill must clear two more readings before becoming law.
An amendment to the penal code proposed by the Jewish Power party and endorsed by the Knesset’s National Security Committee stipulates that terrorists convicted of murder motivated by racism or public hatred, “under circumstances where the act was committed with the intent to harm the State of Israel and the rebirth of the Jewish nation in its homeland,” will face a mandatory death sentence.
Critics note that the clause targeting acts intended to harm Israel makes it highly probable that Palestinians, rather than Jewish Israelis, would face capital punishment. The Palestinian Authority condemned the move as “a new form of escalating Israeli extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people.”
During the same Knesset session, lawmakers approved the first reading of another controversial bill allowing the government to close foreign media outlets without judicial approval.
The vote passed 50 to 41 and aims to codify a temporary order that led to the closure of Qatari-owned Al Jazeera in May 2024. Israeli authorities cited national security concerns and alleged bias favoring Hamas, claims repeatedly denied by the network.
Human rights groups have described the legislation as a direct threat to press freedom.
The death penalty has been used only twice in Israel’s history, most recently in 1962 against Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Supporters, including Jewish Power lawmakers, argue the new law is necessary to deter terrorism.
Limor Son Har-Melech, a bill sponsor and survivor of a 2003 attack by Palestinian gunmen, said, “A dead terrorist does not get released alive.”
Human rights organisations have raised concerns about retroactive application, suggesting it could target hundreds of Palestinian detainees associated with Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
Israel’s justice minister has also proposed a special tribunal to try Gazans accused of involvement in the October 7, 2023, attacks, potentially resulting in death sentences.
The two bills are now slated for second and third readings, with analysts warning of heightened tensions and potential implications for Israel’s legal and human rights obligations internationally.
