Israel passes death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks

Israel's parliament approved a new law on Monday that establishes hanging as the standard punishment for Palestinians found guilty of fatal attacks in military courts. This decision meets a commitment made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right allies. Critics point out that the law will only apply to Palestinians convicted of murder aimed at "ending Israel’s existence" and will not affect Jewish Israelis who commit similar acts. This legislation has faced global backlash, as Israel is already under scrutiny for rising violence from Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and its ongoing conflict in Gaza. The law mandates that executions by hanging must occur within 90 days of sentencing, although there is some provision for delays, and it does not allow for clemency. It does provide an option for life imprisonment instead of the death penalty, but only under unspecified "special circumstances." Israel had previously abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954. The only individual executed in Israel following a civilian trial was Adolf Eichmann, a key figure in the Nazi Holocaust, in 1962. Currently, military courts in the West Bank can impose the death penalty on Palestinian defendants, but they have not done so yet. The measure was backed by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister from the far-right, who wore noose-shaped pins leading up to the vote. In parliament, Ben-Gvir stated, “This is a day of justice for the murdered, a day of deterrence for enemies. Whoever chooses terror chooses death.”