Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has unveiled a significantly expanded version of controversial legislation that would mandate capital punishment for Palestinians accused of involvement in the October 7 attacks. The far-right minister detailed the provisions on social media platform X, outlining drastic changes to Israel’s judicial processes regarding Palestinian detainees.
The revised legislation, initiated by MP Limor Son Har Melech of Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, originally sought to permit judges to impose death sentences on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on ‘nationalistic grounds.’ The newly expanded bill now specifically targets those accused in the October 2023 attacks, classifying such sentences as ‘genocide under the Genocide Law’ and making execution a mandatory punishment.
Critical changes within the proposed law include the abolition of unanimous decision requirements, allowing a regular majority of panel judges to approve executions. The legislation explicitly excludes Israelis who kill Palestinians under similar circumstances from facing capital punishment. Once formally accused, detainees would be executed within 90 days by the Israel Prison Service (IPS), with multiple methods proposed including shooting, electric chair, hanging, or lethal injection.
The bill further authorizes military courts in the occupied West Bank to impose death sentences regardless of prosecutorial positions, while eliminating the ability of army commanders to mitigate or commute approved sentences. The identity of execution personnel would remain confidential under the proposed framework.
Israeli law currently permits capital punishment in limited circumstances, though no executions have occurred since Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann’s 1962 hanging. The bill previously passed its first reading in November with 39 of 120 Knesset members supporting it.
Human rights organizations have condemned the legislation amid reports of widespread Palestinian detentions on terrorism charges and increasing detainee deaths. Approximately 9,300 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, with advocacy groups reporting a ‘record high’ of 110 deaths under Ben Gvir’s prison policies since he took office. Palestinian rights groups have characterized the bill as an ‘unprecedented act of savagery’ that effectively legalizes the systematic killing of prisoners.
International observers have repeatedly criticized Israel’s application of anti-terrorism laws against Palestinians engaged in peaceful activism or humanitarian work, noting frequent use of vague or unsubstantiated charges.