Israel’s parliament Knesset has passed a bill introducing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis, drawing almost universal condemnation from many countries, the Palestinian Authority, rights groups and international bodies, which say the measure violates international law.
The law was approved on Monday in the 120-seat Knesset by 62 lawmakers, with 48 voting against and one abstaining. It will come into effect within 30 days.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the bill, which was pushed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a former convicted terrorist, as part of his Otzma Yehudit party’s coalition agreement.
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Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir celebrated the Knesset’s passage of death penalty law for Palestinian detainees as “historic,” adding: “Soon we will count them one by one.”
He even pops champagne to celebrate it. pic.twitter.com/I047zFUiAu
Under the legislation, military courts will be instructed to impose the death penalty on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of attacks against Israelis. The measure does not apply to Jewish Israelis.
The Palestinian Authority described the bill as “a war crime against the Palestinian people”, stating that it breaches the Fourth Geneva Convention, “particularly the protections it guarantees for individuals and the safeguards for fair trials”.
The law was passed as Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues, and applies to Palestinians tried in military courts who are not Israeli citizens.
Amichai Cohen of the Israel Democracy Institute said that “Jews will not be indicted under this law”.
Concerns were also raised during earlier deliberations by a legal adviser to the Knesset’s National Security Committee, who noted that the bill does not allow clemency, contradicting international conventions.
Israeli rights group B’Tselem said the conviction rate for Palestinians in military courts is about 96 percent, adding that “in many cases, these convictions are based on ‘confessions’ obtained through pressure and torture during interrogations”. The group said that the law “is worded in such a way that it targets only Palestinians”.
According to Palestinian prisoner advocacy group Addameer, more than a third of the 9,500 Palestinians held by Israel as of March 11 were in administrative detention without trial. Many thousands are children.
Shortly after the vote, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said it had petitioned the Supreme Court to challenge the law, calling it “discriminatory by design” and “enacted without legal authority” over West Bank Palestinians.
Ahead of the vote, Ben-Gvir appeared in the Knesset wearing a pin shaped like a noose and said: “From today, every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever takes a life, the State of Israel will take their life.”
The legislation was slammed by international organisations and governments.
The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office in Palestine called on Israel to “immediately repeal the discriminatory death penalty law”, stating: “The United Nations opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. The implementation of this new law would violate international law’s prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.” It added that the law “will exclusively apply to Palestinians… who are often convicted after unfair trials”.
Amnesty International said the measure amounts to “a public display of cruelty, discrimination and utter contempt for human rights”.
Council of Europe Secretary-General Alain Berset described the move as a “serious regression”, stating that “any application of the death penalty that could be characterised as discriminatory is unacceptable”.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said she was “particularly concerned about the de facto discriminatory nature of the Bill as it relates to Palestinians”, adding that “the right to life is a fundamental human right”.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom had asked Israel to withdraw the bill, stating: “For us, life is an absolute value… inflict a punishment is an inhuman measure that violates the dignity of the person.”
A European Commission spokesperson described the law as “a clear step backwards” and called on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law.