Overview
- Lawmakers approved the first reading 39–16, and the proposal must still clear committee work plus two further votes to become law.
- The draft mandates execution for those who kill Israelis for racist motives or with intent to harm the state, which critics say would not cover Jewish perpetrators of killings of Arabs.
- In West Bank military courts, a death sentence could be issued by a two‑to‑one judicial majority, and regional commanders would lose the power to commute such verdicts.
- The bill was authored by Limor Son Har‑Melech of Otzma Yehudit; National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir celebrated the vote by handing out baklava as some opposition factions boycotted and parts of the ultra‑Orthodox camp objected.
- Civil‑rights groups and some security officials warn of moral, security and EU‑relations risks, noting Israel has carried out only one execution by an ordinary court, Adolf Eichmann in 1962.