Israel passes death penalty law for Palestinians
發佈日期: 2026-03-31 20:51
TVB News
Israel's parliament passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis.
The measure has been harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory.
The passage of the bill marked the culmination of a yearslong drive by the far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offenses against Israelis.
Israeli 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 nationalistic killings.
It also gives Israeli courts the option of imposing the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted on similar charges.
However legal experts say this effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens.
It will not apply retroactively to any prisoners Israel currently holds, including the Hamas-led militants who attacked the country on October 7th, 2023.
Israel's minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who spearheaded the push for the legislation, brandished a bottle in celebration of its passing.
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.
Analysts say under international law, Israel's parliament should not be legislating in the West Bank, which is not sovereign Israeli territory.
