Israel Passes Law to Hang Palestinians Convicted of Deadly Attacks [View all]

Source: NY Times

Experts say the law was written in such a way as to ensure that it was unlikely to ever apply to Jewish extremists who commit similar crimes.

Israel’s Parliament passed a law on Monday that would allow the hanging of Palestinians convicted of deadly militant attacks, but critics say it will almost certainly not be applied to Jewish extremists convicted of similar crimes.

The law is a victory for Israel’s far right and reflects the country’s shift to a harder line against Palestinians in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Gaza war that followed. The death penalty has long been legal in Israel, but only two people have been executed in the country’s 78-year history.

The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, passed the law after hours of debate on Monday night over the objections of Israeli justice officials, liberal rights groups and major European allies like Britain and Germany.

It makes death by hanging the default sentence in Israeli military courts for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. Israeli citizens — both Jewish and Palestinian Arab — could also face the death penalty for killings intended to “negate the existence of the State of Israel.” Experts say, however, the chances it would be applied to Jewish Israelis for attacks against Palestinians are minimal.

Judges will be allowed to make exceptions for unspecified circumstances. The legislation will leave those convicted in military courts with no clear path to receiving a pardon.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/world/middleeast/israel-death-penalty-palestinians-attacks.html