Israeli Knesset Passes Legislation Expanding Death Penalty for Convicted Terrorists

Israel Expands Death Penalty Amid International Criticism

The Knesset has passed multiple pieces of legislation in March 2025 expanding the application of the death penalty. One law establishes a new special tribunal for prosecuting participants in the October 7, 2023, attacks, while another amendment mandates capital punishment for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of murder in terrorist attacks on Israelis. Both measures have drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations, the United Nations, and some international governments.

Death Penalty for "Terrorist Murders" Law

The Knesset passed an amendment to Israel's penal code establishing the death penalty as the default sentence for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted by military courts of murdering an Israeli "as an act of terror." The bill passed with 62 votes in favor and 48 against, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voting in support.

Key Provisions: Military courts are instructed to impose the death sentence for convicted individuals. Courts may commute the sentence to life imprisonment only if they determine there are "special reasons," which must be recorded.

Additional provisions include:

• Israeli civilian courts may impose either the death penalty or life imprisonment on Israeli citizens (including Palestinian citizens of Israel) convicted of murder intended to harm Israeli citizens or residents, or committed "with the intent of rejecting the existence of the state of Israel."
• Prosecutors are not required to request the death penalty.
• A simple majority of a judicial panel is sufficient to impose the death sentence.
• The defense minister may submit an opinion to the judicial panel.
• Executions are to be carried out by hanging within 90 days of sentencing.
• Avenues for appeal are tightly restricted, with no possibility of pardon.
• Individuals sentenced to death are to be held in isolated facilities with restricted visitor access and legal consultation only by video link.

The law applies only to future cases and is not retroactive. It creates separate legal tracks: a mandatory death sentence for Palestinians in military courts, and a discretionary sentence for Israeli citizens in civilian courts.

Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, described this distinction as discriminatory, noting that the law would apply primarily to Palestinians. He also stated that under international law, Israel's parliament should not legislate in the West Bank, as it is not sovereign Israeli territory.

Israel has not carried out an execution since the 1962 execution of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. The country's legal framework technically includes the death penalty for offenses such as genocide, wartime espionage, and certain terror offenses, but it has rarely been applied.

Special Tribunal for October 7, 2023, Attack

The Knesset approved legislation establishing a special military tribunal to prosecute approximately 400 Hamas operatives, primarily from the elite Nukhba Force, for alleged crimes committed during the October 7, 2023, attack. The bill passed with 93 votes in favor and none against, with 27 lawmakers absent or abstaining.

Key provisions include:

• The tribunal will be based in Jerusalem and function as a military court.
• Proceedings will be public, recorded via audio and video, with key hearings broadcast on a dedicated website.
• Judicial panels will be headed by sitting or retired district court judges.
• The law allows mass trials and grants judges broad discretion to admit evidence obtained under coercive conditions.
• The death penalty can be imposed by a simple majority vote of a panel of judges, without a prosecutor's request.
• Defendants may appeal to a special appeals court rather than regular appeals courts.
• Funding for legal representation will be deducted from funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority.

According to Israeli figures, the October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas resulted in at least 1,200 deaths in Israel and approximately 251 hostages taken. Approximately 300 alleged attackers were captured inside Israel and have been held since.

The bill's explanatory notes define the acts as crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, and also cover offenses against hostages taken to Gaza. Proceedings may take several months to begin following the tribunal's establishment.

Responses and Criticism

Multiple Israeli and international human rights organizations criticized the legislation.

Adalah stated the law on the special tribunal is "fundamentally incompatible with the right to life, the presumption of innocence, judicial independence and the rule of law." The organization stated that any death sentence would be "arbitrary deprivation of life, absolutely prohibited under international law and potentially a war crime."

A joint statement from Hamoked, Adalah, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel stated that accountability for October 7 victims must follow "the principles of justice."

The Association of Civil Rights in Israel filed a challenge in Israel's highest court, arguing the death penalty law is "discriminatory by design" and "enacted without legal authority" over West Bank Palestinians.

B'Tselem described the law as formalizing lethal policies against Palestinians. Yuli Novak, executive director of B'Tselem, stated: "A state that institutionalizes the execution of one population under its control... does not function as a democracy but rather as a system of control, whose ultimate logic is lethal."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the repeal of the death penalty amendment. He stated the law is "patently inconsistent with Israel's international law obligations" and "deeply discriminatory."

Türk said that applying the death penalty in a discriminatory manner would violate international law, and its application to residents of the occupied Palestinian territory would constitute a war crime.

He also urged the Knesset to reject the bill establishing the special military tribunal, stating it would "institutionalize discriminatory justice" by focusing solely on crimes committed by Palestinians.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the special tribunal law "serves as a cover for the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza."

The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry characterized the death penalty law as "a new form of escalating Israeli extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people," and called for sanctions against Israel's parliament.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the death penalty law a "step toward apartheid," stating it is "asymmetric" as it would not apply to Israelis committing the same crimes.

The European Union expressed concern, calling the legislation "a clear step backwards." Germany stated it could not endorse the law, citing its fundamental rejection of the death penalty.

The International Criminal Court is investigating Israel's conduct in the Gaza war and has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders. Israel is defending against a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, which it rejects as politically motivated.