Israeli authorities have initiated concrete preparations to implement capital punishment specifically targeting Palestinian detainees, according to reports from Israeli media outlets. The development follows the preliminary approval of a death penalty bill by the Knesset in its initial reading during the previous year.
The preparatory measures include the establishment of a specialized execution facility internally referred to as “Israel’s Green Mile” within the prison system. Operational training and procedural development are currently underway, with a delegation from the Israeli Prison Service scheduled to visit an East Asian nation to examine legal frameworks and methodologies for administering capital punishment.
The proposed execution protocol would employ hanging as the method, with three correctional officers simultaneously activating the mechanism to distribute ethical responsibility. Specialist volunteer teams would be assigned to carry out these procedures, with executions mandated to occur within 90 days following final judicial verdicts.
This legislation would initially apply exclusively to Palestinians identified as members of Hamas’ Nukhba elite unit who participated in the October 2023 attacks, subsequently extending to those accused of serious offenses in the West Bank. Notably, the proposed law contains explicit provisions excluding Jewish Israeli citizens from capital punishment eligibility for similar actions against Palestinians.
While Israeli jurisprudence technically permits capital punishment in extreme circumstances, no executions have been conducted since the 1962 hanging of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann for Holocaust-related crimes. The current initiative has drawn substantial criticism from human rights organizations and United Nations experts, who condemn it as violating fundamental human rights principles and international legal standards.
UN specialists have particularly emphasized that mandatory death sentences eliminate judicial discretion to consider individual circumstances and mitigating factors, while Palestinian advocacy groups have characterized the legislation as unprecedented institutional brutality. The development occurs alongside reports of deteriorating conditions for Palestinian detainees, with advocacy groups documenting increased fatalities and alleged torture within Israeli detention facilities.