Israeli Knesset passes initial vote on death penalty bill for Palestinians

The Israeli Parliament (Knesset) has passed three separate bills in their first reading that would allow the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners.

A bill introduced by the Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and supported by the government, passed its first reading with a vote of 39 to 16.

Two separate death penalty bills introduced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party also completed their first reading with votes of 36 to 15 and 37 to 14, respectively.

The bill effectively targets only Palestinians

The Otzma Yehudit party’s bill mandates the death penalty in civilian courts for those who kill an Israeli citizen with a “nationalist motive.”

The bill also removes the unanimity requirement for a death penalty verdict in military courts in the West Bank, making a simple majority sufficient. The authority of regional military commanders to commute sentences is also eliminated by this bill.

The text states that it covers cases where the crime is committed with a “racist” motive and with the “intent to harm the State of Israel and the revival of the Jewish people in their land.”

This phrasing has led to criticism that the regulation will in practice be applied to Arabs who kill Jews, while Jewish perpetrators could be excluded.

Although the death penalty exists in Israeli law, it has only been carried out once, in 1962, for Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust.

Legally, the death penalty is possible for treason and under certain military justice conditions, but it requires a unanimous decision by a panel of three judges and has never been implemented under these circumstances.

Netanyahu changed his stance after Ben-Gvir’s ultimatum

The bill was supported in a preliminary reading in March 2023 with a vote of 55 to 9. However, the process did not advance due to high-level objections from the government and security agencies.

At the time, officials were concerned that such a law could negatively affect negotiations for the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Despite warnings from legal advisors, the Knesset National Security Committee revisited the bill in September.

Following the release of the last group of surviving hostages last month, Ben-Gvir issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Ben-Gvir announced that if the bill was not brought to a first reading within three weeks, his party would stop voting with the coalition.

In response, Netanyahu announced his support for the bill, and the vote took place last night.

Tensions rose in the plenum, and lawmakers were removed from the chamber

Opposition lawmakers warned against the bill. Gilad Kariv of the Labor Party stated that the regulation could “lead to an increase in terrorist attacks” and increase international pressure at a time when Israel is “on the edge of a cliff.”

During the debates, three Arab lawmakers were removed from the chamber. Waleed Taha of the United Arab List (Ra’am) faced verbal attacks from coalition lawmakers during his speech sharply criticizing the bill.

A heated argument involving mutual insults also occurred between Hadash-Ta’al leader Ayman Odeh and Ben-Gvir, resulting in Odeh’s removal from the chamber.

Following this incident, Ahmad Tibi of Hadash-Ta’al was also removed from the plenum during a subsequent verbal duel.

After the vote, Ben-Gvir posted on his X account, stating, “Otzma Yehudit is on its way to making history. We promised, and we delivered.”

Meanwhile, since taking office as National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir has intensified repressive measures against Palestinians in the Israeli prison system.

While the Israeli public has recently been discussing alleged footage of a Palestinian prisoner being raped and the leaking of this footage to the press, a raid was also conducted in August at Damon Prison against Palestinian women using police dogs and tear gas.

During the raids on August 4, 8, 10, and 14, it was reported that prisoners were handcuffed, forcibly removed from their cells, and taken to the prison yard with their heads bowed.