Israel: Knesset approves death penalty for Palestinians

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Monday passed legislation making the death penalty by hanging the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians found guilty of murdering Israeli citizens.

A total of 62 of 120 lawmakers backed the bill, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition is reliant on the support of far-right parties, for whom the adoption of the law marks a major victory.

"The State of Israel is changing the rules of the game today," said Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, a West Bank settler whose ultranationalist party introduced the bill and who has popularized the measure with a noose pinned to his lapel.

"Those who murder Jews will not continue to breathe and enjoy conditions in prison," he said. "This is a day of justice for the murdered, a day of deterrence for enemies."

Israeli media outlets showed images of Ben-Gvir celebrating with his fellow Knesset members in Israel's parliament.

Israel death penalty bill to be challenged in Supreme Court

The new legislation is expected to be challenged in Israel's Supreme Court. The measure has been strongly criticized by both Israeli and Palestinian rights groups, who have called it racist and draconian.

Critics also say it is unlikely to deter attacks by Palestinian attackers and that Israel has no sovereign jurisdiction over the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian presidency strongly condemned the law, saying it "amounts to a war crime," in a statement carried by the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

It stressed that "such laws and measures will not break the will of the Palestinian people or undermine their steadfastness, nor will they deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle for freedom, independence, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."

"Every day that this law remains on the statute books of the State of Israel is a stain on our image and our values," wrote Gilad Kariv, a vocal opposition lawmaker. "We will not tolerate this."

A leading Israeli human rights group announced it had already filed a petition with the Supreme Court.

"The Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed a petition today to the High Court of Justice, demanding the annulment of the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, enacted by the Knesset today, March 30, 2026," the group said in a statement.

Legal experts in Israel have said that Israel’s High Court may rule that the amended death penalty law is unconstitutional in several aspects, reports DW's correspondent Kramer. 

You can read DW's extensive explainer of the controversial bill here.

Edited by: Rana Taha