Israel Passes Death Penalty Law for Palestinians Convicted of Fatal Attacks

Israel's Knesset passed legislation on March 30, 2026, imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, with 62 of 120 lawmakers voting in favor. The law, sponsored by the far-right Jewish Power party and supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, requires mandatory death sentences for Palestinians convicted in West Bank military courts unless special reasons exist for commutation, with executions by hanging to be carried out within 90 days. The legislation lowers the conviction threshold to a simple majority of judges and applies only to future cases, not retroactively to October 7, 2023 attacks. Four European countries—the UK, France, Germany, and Italy—condemned the law as a grave step backwards, while UN experts warned it violates the right to life and discriminates against Palestinians, who face 96% conviction rates in military courts based largely on coerced confessions according to B'Tselem.

Details and Provisions of the New Death Penalty Law

• ▪The Israeli prime minister can apply to delay executions under the Penal Bill (Amendment — Death Penalty for Terrorists) by no more than 180 days
• ▪The Israel Prison Service will be required to carry out death sentences under the Penal Bill (Amendment — Death Penalty for Terrorists) within 90 days
• ▪Israel's Knesset passed the Penal Bill (Amendment — Death Penalty for Terrorists) on Monday, March 30, 2026
• ▪62 of 120 lawmakers in the Knesset voted to approve the Penal Bill (Amendment — Death Penalty for Terrorists), while 48 voted against it
• ▪The Penal Bill (Amendment — Death Penalty for Terrorists) will not be applied retroactively or to alleged perpetrators of the October 7, 2023 terror attacks

Historical Context of Capital Punishment in Israel

• ▪Israel abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes and in peacetime in 1954
• ▪Meir Tobianski, an Israeli army officer, was executed for treason in 1948 after being falsely accused of espionage and was posthumously exonerated
• ▪Israel executed Adolf Eichmann, a leading figure in Germany's Nazi Party, in 1962 after a lengthy trial in Jerusalem

Political Drivers and Proponents of the Legislation

• ▪There was a new push by Israeli lawmakers to pass the death penalty law in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terror attacks on October 7, 2023

Domestic and International Opposition to the Law

• ▪At least 94 Palestinians, security detainees and prisoners died in Israeli prison or military detention facilities from the start of the war until August 2025, according to HaMoked

Perspective of Far-right Israeli lawmakers and Jewish Power party

• ▪The Penal Bill (Amendment — Death Penalty for Terrorists) establishes the death penalty as part of the fight against terrorism

Perspective of Palestinian human rights advocates and lawyers

• ▪Israeli military courts in the occupied West Bank have an approximately 96% conviction rate based largely on confessions extracted under duress and torture, according to B'Tselem
• ▪At least 94 Palestinians, security detainees and prisoners died in Israeli prison or military detention facilities from the start of the war until August 2025, according to HaMoked

Perspective of International community and European nations

• ▪United Nations Human Rights Council experts urged Israel in February to withdraw the Penal Bill (Amendment — Death Penalty for Terrorists), stating it would violate the right to life and discriminate against Palestinians