The death penalty law adopted last week by a bare majority of 62 Knesset members is a discriminatory abomination that would subject West Bank Palestinians to capital punishment. Unless it is annulled by Israel’s Supreme Court, this statute’s very existence is certain to further isolate Israel in the international community and will exacerbate the county’s relations with many Jews across the globe.

The offending and offensive law goes counter to Israel’s character, in the words of its Declaration of Independence, as a “Jewish state” that “will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants.” Its sinister nature was made evident by the noose-shaped lapel pin worn by its sponsor, the neo-fascist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, at a Knesset hearing on the legislation.

Article 3 of this statute requires Israel’s defense minister to direct the commander of the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank to insert the following provision in “the Order regarding Security” within 30 days of the law becoming operative:

A resident of the Area [i.e., the West Bank] who intentionally causes the death of a person, where the act constitutes an act of terrorism as defined in the Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776–2016 (hereinafter –  a terrorist), shall be sentenced to death, and this punishment only; however, if the Military Court finds, for special reasons which shall be recorded, that special circumstances exist for which it is appropriate to sentence the terrorist to life imprisonment, it may impose such a sentence, and this punishment only; in this subsection, a “resident of the Area” – one who is registered in the population registry of the Area or one who resides in the Area even if not registered in said registry, excluding an Israeli citizen or an Israeli resident.

A resident of the Area [i.e., the West Bank] who intentionally causes the death of a person, where the act constitutes an act of terrorism as defined in the Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776–2016 (hereinafter –  a terrorist), shall be sentenced to death, and this punishment only; however, if the Military Court finds, for special reasons which shall be recorded, that special circumstances exist for which it is appropriate to sentence the terrorist to life imprisonment, it may impose such a sentence, and this punishment only; in this........

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