TEL AVIV, March 30, 2026 (WAFA) – The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Monday evening approved in its second and third readings a law allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners.
The law passed with 62 members voting in favor, 48 against, and one abstention.
The bill was initiated by Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech and was championed by Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Last week, the Knesset’s National Security Committee approved the draft legislation, which mandates the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of carrying out attacks that result in the killing of Israelis, before it was brought to the full parliament for final approval.
During deliberations, the committee dismissed more than 2,000 objections submitted against the bill, according to a statement issued by the Knesset, in a move reflecting an accelerated legislative process despite widespread controversy surrounding the measure.
Under the new law, the death penalty will be imposed on anyone who “intentionally causes the death of a person within the framework of an act classified as terrorism.” The legislation also stipulates that no pardon may be granted in such cases, effectively preventing any future political or legal intervention to commute or alter the sentence.
The law introduces a mandatory death sentence without requiring unanimous judicial approval. Executions are to be carried out by hanging by the Israeli Prison Service within a specified period not exceeding 90 days from the confirmation of the sentence.
The legislation also differentiates between implementation inside Israel and in the occupied West Bank. In the West Bank, the death penalty would be the primary punishment, while military courts may impose life imprisonment only under “special circumstances.” The law also grants the Minister of National Security authority to determine the judicial body responsible for prosecuting suspects.
It also allows the Prime Minister to request a delay in carrying out the execution under “special circumstances,” though the total postponement may not exceed 180 days, despite the law’s requirement that executions be carried out within 90 days of the ruling.
According to statistics from the Palestinian Prisoners Society, around 9,500 Palestinians and Arab detainees are currently held in Israeli prisons.
The number of prisoners whose bodies are being withheld by Israel has reached 97, including 86 since the war on Gaza, while the total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody since 1967 has risen to 326.
The death penalty has been extremely rare in Israeli judicial history, having been carried out only once, in 1962, against Nazi official Adolf Eichmann.
Four European countries — United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy — had earlier urged Israel to abandon the legislation, expressing concern over its potential consequences and stressing that the death penalty constitutes an “inhuman and degrading” form of punishment that does not serve as a deterrent.
Amnesty International also warned that the law could further entrench an apartheid system and place Israel in direct confrontation with the global movement to abolish capital punishment, adding that its implementation could amount to a war crime.
M.N
