Israel moves towards controversial death penalty revival

"However, decades later and in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terror attacks on 7 October 2023, there has been a new push by Israeli lawmakers to pass a highly controversial law re-establishing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted by Israeli military courts. Opponents of the bill argue it is unethical and racist, discriminating between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, as it is designed to be applied only to Palestinians."

"The draft bill in its current form establishes a mandatory death sentence for certain crimes for Palestinians tried in military courts. In addition, the bill removes any possibility for a pardon or commutation of the sentence. The draft bill passed its first reading in November 2025 in Israel's Knesset. It was then returned to the National Security Committee for further deliberation and needs to go through a second and third reading to become law. It is unclear if, and when, this will happen."

"After the vote, Itamar Ben Gvir, head of Jewish Power and Minister of National Security, called the bill "the most important bill in the state of Israel's history." "Let every terrorist know this bill is the bill that will deter. It is the bill that will frighten. It is the bill that will cause them to think a thousand times before committing another October 7," he said."

Israel last used the death penalty in 1962 to execute Adolf Eichmann after a lengthy trial in Jerusalem. In the aftermath of the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023, lawmakers proposed a draft law to reinstate capital punishment for Palestinians convicted in military courts, establishing mandatory death sentences for specified crimes and removing any possibility of pardon or commutation. The draft bill passed a first reading in the Knesset in November 2025 and was returned to the National Security Committee for further deliberation; it requires second and third readings to become law. The proposal is sponsored by Jewish Power with support from Likud and Yisrael Beitenu and faces widespread domestic criticism as unethical, racist, and discriminatory.

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