Overview
- The Knesset, which approved the measure Monday after nearly 12 hours of debate, passed it by about 62–48 with backing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and chief sponsor Itamar Ben Gvir.
- The law makes death by hanging the default sentence in West Bank military courts, a setup that rights groups say will target Palestinians, while civilian courts trying Israeli citizens may still impose life terms.
- The statute is not retroactive and, according to multiple reports, introduces faster timelines and tighter procedures that include majority‑vote sentencing, curtailed appeals, isolation of the condemned, secret hangings, and executions within roughly 90 days of a final sentence.
- Civil‑rights groups such as ACRI and Adalah have filed or announced Supreme Court challenges calling the law discriminatory and unlawful, and foreign ministers of France, Germany, the UK and Italy have formally condemned it as de facto discriminatory.
- The change would mark Israel’s first executions since Adolf Eichmann in 1962 if carried out, and analysts warn of knock‑on effects that could complicate hostage talks, fuel retaliatory violence, and increase legal exposure for Israeli officials.