Israel Parliament Approves Death Penalty for West Bank Palestinians Detained for 'Murder' |
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New Delhi: Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure that has been harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane.
The passage of the bill marked the culmination of a yearslong drive by the far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians detained and convicted of what Israel will deem nationalistic offences against Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the Knesset to vote for the bill in person.
The law makes the death penalty — by hanging — the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of whatever Israel labels nationalistic killings. While it also gives Israeli courts the option of imposing the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted on similar charges, it effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens.
The law further applies to military courts, while Jewish citizens are tried in civilian courts.
It will not apply retroactively to any prisoners Israel currently holds, including the Hamas-led militants who attacked the country on October 7, 2023, following which Israel led genocidal attacks on the Gaza Strip for the past two-and-half years.
After the final 62-48 vote in favour, lawmakers erupted into cheers and stood up in jubilation. Netanyahu, who remained in his seat, did not immediately react or speak. Israel’s minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who spearheaded the push for the legislation, brandished a bottle in celebration.
What does the bill say?
Experts say the legislation has two key elements that will effectively limit the death penalty to Palestinians.
First, the bill makes the death penalty a default punishment for nationalistic killings in military courts, which try only West Bank Palestinians and not Israeli citizens. It says that only in special circumstances can military judges change the sentence to life imprisonment.
It gives Israeli civilian courts a greater degree of leniency in sentencing, with judges having the option to choose between the death penalty and life imprisonment.
The second element is how the bill defines the offence punishable by death: killing that rejects the existence of the state of Israel.
“It will apply in Israeli courts, but only to terrorist activities that are motivated by the wish to undermine the existence of Israel. That means Jews will not be indicted under this law,” Cohen said.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy released a statement Sunday urging Israel to abandon plans to pass the law, calling it “de facto discriminatory,” and saying the death penalty was unethical and had no “deterring effect.”
The law will face legal challenges
The legislation, which says it will take effect in 30 days, is certain to face legal challenges that may stall its implementation.
Minutes after the bill passed, the Association of Civil Rights in Israel said it had already petitioned Israel’s highest court to challenge the law. It called the legislation “discriminatory by design” and said the parliament had enacted it “without legal authority” over West Bank Palestinians, who are not Israeli citizens.
Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute’s Center for Democratic Values and Institutions, said that under international law, Israel’s parliament should not be legislating in the West Bank, which is not sovereign Israeli territory.
Many in Netanyahu’s far-right coalition seek to annex the West Bank to Israel.
The UN Human Rights Office internationally mandated to monitor and report on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, called for Israel to immediately repeal the law:
“Israel must immediately repeal the discriminatory death penalty law passed today by the Knesset, as it contravenes Israel’s obligations under international law.
“The United Nations opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. The implementation of this new law would violate international law’s prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
“Additionally, this law further entrenches Israel’s violation of the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid as it will exclusively apply to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Israel, who are often convicted after unfair trials.”
The rights group B’Tselem pointed out prior to the Knesset’s approval of the bill that the conviction rate for Palestinians tried in military courts is about 96%. “In many cases, these convictions are based on ‘confessions’ obtained through pressure and torture during interrogations,” it said in a post on X on Sunday.
“The law is worded in such a way that it targets only Palestinians. And it will turn the killing of Palestinians into an accepted and common tool of punishment through several mechanisms,” said the group.
Concerns raised in the Knesset
The vote capped a daylong debate in the parliament. During earlier deliberations, lawmakers raised other concerns, including how the bill does not allow clemency, contradicting international conventions. Opposition lawmakers at times appeared to plead with their colleagues to vote against the bill.
Before the vote, Ben Gvir described the law as long overdue and a sign of strength and national pride.
“From today, every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever takes a life, the State of Israel will take their life,” he told lawmakers. On his lapel, he wore a small metal noose.
Gilad Kariv, of the Labor Party, condemned the bill’s stipulation that a unanimous judgment is not required to impose the death sentence.
“A law in which a person can be sentenced to death without a unanimous conviction. Is this justice in your eyes? Is this the sanctity of life that Israeli tradition has taught us?” he asked.
The bill contravenes international law, he added, and risks turning Israeli soldiers and prison guards into “war criminals against their will.”
Some, like Aida Sliman of Hadash, the leftist Jewish-Arab political party, left the chamber in dismay before the votes were complete.