Israel passes law to impose death penalty on Palestinians convicted of terrorism

The Israeli Parliament approved this Monday a law that imposes the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of acts of terrorism that cause fatalities. The law states that the death penalty will be imposed on a terrorist who has killed a person “with the intention of denying the existence of the State of Israel.”

In this way, the wording of the norm creates a distinction that allocates it almost exclusively to Palestinian terrorism, while the ideological burden of proof it establishes makes its application to Jewish nationalist terrorism practically impossible.

Some opposition deputies voted in favor of the law. The rule is now applicable in any territory that Israel controls in factincluding the West Bank and 53% of Gaza.

The court will have the power to impose a sentence of life imprisonment on convicted persons instead of the death penalty if it considers that there are “special reasons” for this or if “special circumstances” exist.

According to the project, promoted by the far-right National Security Minister’s Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power, in Spanish) party, Itamar Ben-Gvirand by the Likud deputy Nissim Vaturithe court may impose the death penalty even if the prosecution does not request it.

Furthermore, the unanimous consent of the judges will not be necessary to impose the death penalty.

The law will not apply to Hamas terrorists who participated in the October 7 massacre, as a separate bill is being processed to create a specific court for them. The proposal is going ahead despite opposition from professional bodies to some of its provisions.

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