Israeli parliament to vote on death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament is set to vote on a bill that would make the death penalty the default punishment West Bank Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis.
Parliament began debating on Monday, days before spring recess. The passage of the bill would mark the culmination of a years-long push by Israel’s far-right to increase penalties for Palestinians convicted of nationalist crimes against Israelis, and a victory for Israel. Israel’s fiery national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, The leader of the religious party that passed the law.
Opponents of the law say it is racist, cruel and unlikely to deter attacks by Palestinian militants. The law calls for the death penalty to take effect within 30 days, but rights groups are expected to petition the Israeli Supreme Court against it.
Ahead of the vote, Ben Gvir popularized the measure by wearing a small noose on his lapel, an apparent reference to the bill’s method of implementation.
“With God’s help, we will fully implement this law and kill our enemies,” he said after the bill received approval to be brought to a final vote, adding it was “the most important law” to be approved by parliament in recent years.
Ben Gvir’s party is vital to the coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
What’s in the bill?
Critics include Israelis and Palestinians, international rights groups and the United Nations. They say it has established a hierarchy among Israeli court systems that limits the death penalty to Palestinians found guilty of killing Jewish citizens in Israel.
The bill instructs military courts to sentence those found guilty of killing an Israeli “as an act of terrorism.” Such courts only try West Bank Palestinians who are not Israeli citizens. The bill states that military courts may commute the sentence to life imprisonment in “special cases”.
Israeli courts that try Israeli citizens, including Palestinian citizens of Israel, can choose between life imprisonment or the death penalty in cases of murder intended to harm Israeli citizens and residents or committed “with the intent to deny the existence of the state of Israel.”
Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute’s Center for Democratic Values and Institutions, said this distinction is discriminatory.
“This will apply in areas where there are military courts, which are Palestinian courts. It will apply in Israeli courts, but only for terrorist activities motivated by the desire to undermine the existence of Israel. This means that Jews will not be charged under this law,” he said.
Criticisms about the bill
Cohen added that according to international law, the Israeli parliament should not make laws in the West Bank, which is not sovereign Israeli territory. Many in Netanyahu’s far-right coalition annex the West Bank To Israel.
The lawyer of the Parliament’s National Security Committee has expressed various concerns in previous meetings, stating that this does not allow amnesty, contrary to international conventions. The bill states that executions must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing.
Although Israel technically has the death penalty on the books as a possible punishment for acts of genocide, wartime espionage, and some terrorist crimes, the country has not executed anyone since. Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann In 1962.
The bill would not apply retroactively to any militants currently held by Israel. attacked the country A separate bill on punishing attackers is being considered.
Some opposition lawmakers worry the bill could harm future hostage negotiations. Israel exchanged approximately 250 hostages taken in the October 2023 attack for thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli Public Committee Against Torture, a local advocacy group, says the state has consistently voted in favor of abolishing the death penalty at the UN. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency had until recently objected to the practice, believing it could encourage further revenge plots by Palestinian militants.
