Overview
- The Israeli parliament, which approved the measure 62–48 on Monday, set hanging as the default sentence in West Bank military courts for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in attacks backed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
- The law is slated to take effect in 30 days, yet Israel’s Supreme Court received an immediate petition from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel seeking to annul it as discriminatory and beyond the Knesset’s authority in the occupied territory.
- European pushback intensified Tuesday as the European Commission called the law a clear step backwards after earlier warnings from the UK, France, Germany and Italy that it is de facto discriminatory.
- Critics say the statute creates two tracks that would in practice target Palestinians because military courts try only West Bank Palestinians, while civilian courts keep more discretion and the law’s wording would likely exclude Jewish perpetrators.
- The legislation specifies hanging, directs executions within about 90 days, sharply limits clemency and appeals, and excludes current prisoners, in a country that has not carried out an execution since Adolf Eichmann in 1962.