March 31, 2026

Get you up to speed: Israel passes bill enabling death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism

Israel has approved a bill that enables the execution of Palestinians in the West Bank convicted of terrorism charges. The legislation, introduced by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, designates the death penalty as the default punishment for such convictions in military courts.

Israel has approved a bill that mandates the death penalty for Palestinians in the West Bank convicted of terrorism charges, a measure that has drawn condemnation from various entities, including the European Union. According to EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni, this legislation represents “a clear step backwards” due to its discriminatory nature.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the parliamentary session to support the newly approved bill, which establishes the death penalty as the default punishment for Palestinians convicted of terrorism charges by military courts. Protests against the legislation are ongoing in Ramallah, where activists and civil society groups are condemning the law as discriminatory.

Israel passes death sentence law – but it only applies to Palestinians | News World

Israel has approved a bill which would allow for Palestinians in the West Bank convicted of terrorism charges to be executed.

The legislation makes the death penalty a default punishment for Palestinians who are found guilty of ‘intentionally’ carrying out attacks which are classed as terrorism by a military court.

The move has been condemned by the European Union as well as France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

It’s been classed as discrimination as it does not apply to Jewish citizens of Israel and does not comply with International Humanitarian Law.

‘The death penalty bill in Israel is very concerning to us in the EU. This is a clear step backwards – the introduction of the death penalty, together with the discriminatory nature of the law,’ EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists in Brussels.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is seen speaking in the Israeli Parliament after the bill passed. He later celebrated it with a bottle of champagne (Picture: REUTERS)

As Palestinians living in the Israel-occupied territory are automatically tried in Israeli military courts, the measure effectively creates harsher and stricter sentences for the people living there.

It was tabled by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who was later seen celebrating it being passed with a champagne toast in the nation’s Parliamentary corridors.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had attended the chamber to support the bill, could also be seen congratulating lawmakers on it passing.

In Ramallah, dozens of activists, political factions and civil society groups gathered to protest the law.

Some held placards depicting a blindfolded prisoner flanked by two hanging nooses – a stark image of what they fear lies ahead.

‘Stop the execution of prisoners law before it’s too late,’ read the placards, held alongside portraits of imprisoned Palestinians.

Smoke and flames rise following an Israeli military strike on a target in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Abdullah al-Zaghari, director of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, condemned what he described was an openly discriminatory law.

‘This fascist and racist legislation reflects the reality of the occupation,’ he said. ‘It applies to Palestinians – not to Israeli Jews who carry out daily violence against Palestinian civilians.’

Haitham, a 28-year-old employee of an international humanitarian organisation, said the law was ‘horrible’.

‘But we expected it… What can you expect from a government with people like Netanyahu?’ he told AFP, declining to give his last name.

It’s been classed as discrimination as it does not apply to Jewish citizens of Israel and does not comply with International Humanitarian Law. Pictured are Palestinians attending a funeral of two brothers killed in an Israeli drone strike (Photo by Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The legislation is ‘primitive and very stupid’, said Meyir Lahav, a physician from Tel Aviv, adding that such measures were ‘deplorable and unacceptable in our society’.

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‘We should be ashamed.’

‘What I don’t like is that it doesn’t apply to everyone,’ said Tom, a software engineer, who gave only his first name.

‘If someone commits murder, it should apply to all – Jews, Arabs, Muslims alike.’

Yves, a French resident of Israel, also opposed the measure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was later seen congratulating members of Parliament after the bill was passed (Picture: EPA)

‘To decide that, once a person has been captured, they should be put to death – regardless of what they have done – and to entrust another with carrying out that act, is something I reject on principle,’ he said.

But others, like businessman Noah Levi, firmly backed the law.

‘The death penalty is a very good thing; we should have implemented it a long time ago,’ Levi said.

The death penalty exists in Israel but it has been applied only twice: in 1948, shortly after the state’s founding, against a military captain accused of high treason, and then in 1962, when the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hanged.

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