Israel’s National Security Committee voted Monday to approve a bill that would legalize the execution of Palestinian prisoners, fast-tracking it to a full Knesset vote set for Wednesday, according to the Hebrew-language daily Maariv.
The draft legislation declares that “a terrorist who kills an Israeli citizen out of racist or nationalistic hatred, and with the intent to harm the State of Israel, shall be sentenced to death.” The stipulations of this bill will not apply to any Israeli who murders a Palestinian, according to The Times of Israel.
Under the proposed law, Israeli military courts—used almost exclusively to try Palestinians—could impose capital punishment by simple majority, bypassing the current requirement for a unanimous ruling. Final death sentences would no longer be subject to appeal or commutation.
Israeli official Gal Hirsch, who oversees the prisoner file, told the committee that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally supports the measure. “I spoke with the prime minister before the discussion,” Hirsch said. “His position is in favor of the bill.”
Hirsch had previously opposed the law while Israeli captives were held in Gaza by resistance groups. “Now that all have been returned,” he told lawmakers Monday that his opposition had “become irrelevant.”
The bill was authored by Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister and head of the Jewish Power party, as part of the 2022 coalition agreements that returned Netanyahu to power.
Ben-Gvir has aggressively championed the bill as a political and ideological priority. “Netanyahu’s people asked me to delay the vote because the timing wasn’t right,” he told the committee. “My answer was a definitive no. This is the hour to impose death sentences on prisoners.”
In March 2023, the Knesset passed the bill in a preliminary reading. Previous Israeli governments had blocked similar legislation over concerns it would derail prisoner exchange deals or provoke international backlash. However, the current coalition opted to revive and accelerate this bill.
If enacted, the law would apply primarily to Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza convicted of killing Israeli citizens, a move critics say formalizes apartheid and collective punishment.
By June, Israel currently holds 289 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, 59 sentenced to more than 30 years, and 1,407 already convicted, according to Israeli outlet Haaretz. An additional 4,800 Palestinians are detained without trial or are awaiting sentencing, according to the Palestinian ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
According to Al Jazeera, Israel’s legislative process typically requires multiple readings and committee stages. However, because the death penalty bill was introduced by the government—not a private member—it bypasses the preliminary reading phase and proceeds directly to the first Knesset vote on Wednesday.
If passed in three readings, the law would be added to Israel’s legal code.
