Israel has proposed a law that would mandate the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis as acts of terrorism. The measure, debated in the Knesset, would allow military courts - which only try non-citizen Palestinians - to impose execution within 90 days of sentencing.
The UK, Germany, France, and Italy issued a joint statement condemning the bill as "de facto discriminatory," warning it undermines democratic values and international law. They stressed the death penalty has no deterrent effect and is fundamentally inhumane.
Critics, including Israeli legal experts and the UN, note the law targets only Palestinians, exempting Israeli citizens - including Jewish settlers - from the same standard. Legal scholar Amichai Cohen called the distinction racially biased, noting Jews would never be prosecuted under this provision.
The West Bank is not sovereign Israeli territory; international law prohibits an occupying power from imposing its criminal penalties on local populations in this manner.
The bill, championed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, would be a historic shift. Israel has not executed anyone since 1962, when Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hanged. The law would not apply retroactively to attackers from October 7, 2023.