Israel approves death penalty bill for 'terrorists' in first vote, amid criticism of its implementation

The bill to apply the death penalty against "terrorists" accused of murdering Israeli citizens passed its first reading - out of a total of three - in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on Monday night , being approved with 39 deputies in favor and 18 against.

The project, promoted by Jewish Power, the party of far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir, plans to apply the death penalty to those classified as "terrorists" by Israel who cause "the death of an Israeli citizen for reasons of racism or hostility towards the population, with the aim of harming the State of Israel and the resurrection of the Jewish people in their land," the Knesset said in a statement.

Furthermore, according to the draft bill, which still needs to be approved again in committee and then in two further votes in plenary session, the death penalty can be applied by Israeli military courts in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank "by a simple majority of the judges of the court of first instance," and not unanimously, and it "cannot be commuted" to a lesser penalty.

During the plenary session in which the law was discussed, which Palestinian organizations claim would primarily affect Palestinian citizens, the radical minister Ben Gvir stated that, if definitively approved, "it will be the most important in the history of the State of Israel."

"Every terrorist will know: this is the law that will deter. It is the law that will instill fear," said Ben Gvir.

In a statement, several Palestinian human rights organizations, including the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and the Independent Human Rights Commission, stressed that, if passed, "the bill would impose the death penalty on anyone who kills an Israeli for nationalist reasons."

They denounce that "the most dangerous aspect of the new bill is its retroactive application, an unprecedented practice in any legislative process, especially in criminal law," where the retroactivity of legal reforms is usually only applied to those that are most beneficial to the defendant.

According to Palestinian organizations, the project "aims to legitimize mass executions against hundreds of Palestinian detainees, particularly members of the Al Qassam Brigades (Hamas' armed wing), arrested since October 7, 2023."

"Therefore, the main objective of the proposed legislation is to satisfy a desire for revenge or retaliation, rather than to deter or prevent future actions," they add.

Likewise, the Islamist group Hamas asserted that Israel seeks to "legalize the systematic and mass killing" of Palestinians through this law.

"The approval in the so-called Zionist Knesset in the first reading of the law to execute Palestinian prisoners is an extension of the racist and criminal approach of the Zionist government and an attempt to legalize the systematic murder of our Palestinian people who live under occupation," Hamas denounced in a statement.

The Islamist group described the proposal as "sadistic" legislation and a "flagrant disregard for international laws and conventions, including international humanitarian law and human rights principles."

Hamas called on the international community, especially the United Nations, to condemn the law and pressure Israel to reverse its decision.

Furthermore, he called for the formation of an international commission to visit Israeli prisons to examine the conditions to which Palestinian prisoners are subjected, who have repeatedly reported torture, beatings, and deprivation of food, hygiene products, and sleep.

Israeli authorities use the term 'terrorist' to refer to Palestinians who attack their soldiers or settlers who reside illegally in the West Bank, as well as those who carry out actual attacks on Israeli territory.

Under the umbrella of this term, the Israeli Army or Police have gone so far as to label as terrorists children who have thrown stones at their forces , journalists in Gaza and the West Bank, and other people whose connection to armed groups has never been proven.

Ben Gvir, in charge of the National Security portfolio in Israel, has also promoted a tightening of the conditions for Palestinian prisoners, who routinely report suffering abuse and even torture, as well as deprivation of sleep, food or hygiene.