Israel to Vote on Death Penalty Bill for Palestinian Murder Convicts

Israel’s parliament is set to vote on Monday for a bill that could make the death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military court of killing Israelis. This measure, devised by far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been criticized by Israel’s European allies who argue it unfairly targets Palestinians under military occupation.

The bill includes provisions requiring sentencing within 90 days with no right to clemency. Critics say the bill aims at Palestinians in the West Bank by instructing military courts in the occupied territory to impose the death penalty in cases involving killings of Israelis, except in “special circumstances”. These courts only try Palestinians and have a near-100% conviction rate, according to rights groups.

The vote on the bill is the latest action by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition to cause concern among Israel’s allies in Europe. The original bill mandated the death sentence for non-Israeli citizens in the West Bank convicted of deadly terrorist acts. However, the revised legislation up for a vote on Monday includes the option of life imprisonment.

The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and Britain have already criticized the bill, saying it has a “de facto discriminatory” character toward Palestinians. The adoption of this bill could risk undermining Israel’s commitments to democratic principles, according to the ministers’ joint statement on Sunday.

United Nations experts have also raised concerns about the bill, stating that it includes “vague and overbroad definitions of terrorist”, meaning the death penalty could be meted out for conduct that is not genuinely terrorist in nature. Ben-Gvir argues that the death penalty would deter those considering an attack similar to the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Amnesty International has stated there is no evidence that the death penalty is any more effective in reducing crime than life imprisonment. Israeli rights groups have said they will challenge the bill at Israel’s Supreme Court if it becomes law.

Israel abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954 and only executed one person – Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi Holocaust – in 1962 after a civilian trial. Military courts retained the option to impose a death sentence but have not used it so far.

The Israeli rights group B’Tselem says that military courts in the West Bank, where Palestinians are tried for alleged crimes, have a 96% conviction rate and have a history of extracting confessions through torture. Ben-Gvir has overseen an overhaul of Israeli prisons that has led to widespread allegations of torture, starvation, and abuse of Palestinian prisoners.

Abdallah Al Zughari, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, said Palestinians in Israeli jails had already been subject to “slow killing practices” leading to more than 100 deaths since October 7, 2023. The death penalty bill, if enacted, would pose a major threat to the lives of detainees, according to Zughari.