Understanding Israel's New Death Penalty Law

For years, previous attempts to revive the death penalty in Israel have always failed. On Monday night (30/03) local time, Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, passed the Penal Bill, which is an amendment to the death penalty for terrorists.

Previously, the death penalty existed only for war crimes. This penalty was abolished in 1954 for common crimes, but technically still permitted for crimes against humanity or against the Jewish people, as well as in certain circumstances under military law.

In the rare cases where the death penalty was imposed by military courts for terrorism-related violations, the sentence was always commuted to life imprisonment after the appeals process.

However, following the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023, new pressure emerged from Israeli parliament members to reinstate the death penalty for Palestinians convicted by both military courts and Israel’s criminal courts.

Supporters of the bill argue that harsher penalties are needed after the 7 October attack. Meanwhile, opponents of the bill call the regulation unethical, unconstitutional, and racist because it differentiates between Israeli Jewish citizens and Palestinian residents.

As many as 62 out of 120 Knesset members voted to approve the bill, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while 48 other members rejected it. The rest abstained or were absent. In theory, the new law could still be revised or overturned by Israel’s Supreme Court.

Since the founding of the State of Israel, only two people have ever been executed after being sentenced to death. The first in 1948, when Meir Tobianski, a military officer wrongly accused of being a spy, was executed for treason and later exonerated posthumously. The second in 1962, when Adolf Eichmann, a key figure in the German Nazi Party, was executed after a lengthy trial in Jerusalem.

Contents of the new death penalty law

According to the text of the bill, the purpose of this law is “to establish the death penalty for terrorists who carry out terror attacks that kill victims, as part of efforts to combat terrorism.”

It is also stated that “a person who intentionally causes the death of another person with the aim of endangering Israeli citizens or residents, with the intent to deny the existence of the State of Israel, shall be punished by death or life imprisonment, and only one of the two penalties.”

The law has two different tracks, for criminal courts in Israel and for military courts in the occupied West Bank. Those military courts are under Israeli military administration and only try Palestinians living in that area.

Palestinians in the West Bank who are convicted of terrorism by military courts will face mandatory death penalty, or in the bill’s text, “… the penalty is death, and that is the only penalty.”

Only if the court finds “special reasons,” the death penalty can be commuted to life imprisonment, the opposite of the usual practice in military courts so far. Unanimous agreement from all judges is no longer required; a simple majority is sufficient, and the appeals route is very limited.

Before the law was passed, the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem stated that “these military courts have a conviction rate of around 96%, mostly based on ‘confessions’ obtained through pressure and torture during interrogation.”

Knesset legal advisor Ido BenItzhak criticised the bill before it was passed, saying that the regulation “does not provide a pardon mechanism for those sentenced to death, which contradicts international conventions and could cause problems.”

Implementation of the law

The death penalty will not be applied retroactively (not applicable to cases occurring before the regulation takes effect) or to suspects in the 7 October attack.

However, a separate bill could still be submitted to the Knesset. That bill, called the Tribunal Law (Draft Bill for Prosecuting Participants in the 7 October Massacre Event), would establish a special military tribunal that could impose the death penalty on those accused of involvement in the 7 October attack.

Israel’s Prison Service (IPS) is required to carry out executions within 90 days. The prime minister may request a delay in execution to the court that imposed the sentence, but not more than 180 days. Executions will be carried out by hanging by prison officers.

Who supports this law?

The bill was sponsored by members of the far-right Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party, with support from members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party and the conservative Yisrael Beitenu party.

Itamar Ben Gvir, head of Jewish Power and National Security Minister, is one of the main figures pushing for the death penalty. He has made it a populist campaign and even wore a gold noose-shaped pin during the campaign.

During Ben Gvir’s tenure, Israeli human rights groups like Physicians for Human Rights have reported a sharp increase in cases of torture and abuse in prisons and military detention centres. According to HaMoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, at least 94 Palestinians, both security detainees and prisoners, have died in Israeli prisons or military detention facilities since the war began until August 2025.

Opposition to the death penalty

Criticism has come from various parties in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Opponents include Israeli opposition members, security officials, rabbis, doctors, as well as Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups.

Sahar Francis, a Palestinian lawyer based in Ramallah, called the bill “very dangerous.”

“This law reflects that Israel is heading towards a fascist state because this law will be highly discriminatory,” she said. She explained that the regulation in practice will only apply