A parliamentary committee in Israel’s legislature has advanced a bill that would allow courts to sentence Palestinian prisoners to death if they are convicted of killing Israelis for “nationalistic” motives. The death penalty bill was spearheaded by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, framing capital punishment as a deterrent against Palestinian resistance despite warnings it could endanger Israeli hostages.
The law would not apply to Israelis who kill Palestinians under similar circumstances.
According to a report by Middle East Eye, Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups – the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – described the bill as an “unprecedented act of savagery”.
The bill has also faced criticism within Israel, but for different reasons, including its potential legal invalidity and the possible impact on captives held in Gaza. The families of currently held captives are also protesting this bill. The human rights implications are clear: the ruling class can kill anyone it wants, as long as it writes it down on paper.
“Released hostages have told us clearly that every media stunt about the death penalty for terrorists leads to harsher conditions and violence against the hostages,” said Lishay Miran Lavi, wife of captive Omri Miran, on X. “Netanyahu knows this. Gal Hirsch knows this. Ben Gvir knows this. But Ben Gvir wanted to be on TV today. In a proper country, the prime minister would have fired Ben Gvir this morning.”
This “death penalty” bill may be being used as a way to assuage the guilt of the already harsh treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
Gvir has placed Palestinian detainees under unprecedentedly harsh conditions, including torture, starvation, and sexual assault. At least 76 identified Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody over the past two years, though the actual number is feared to be significantly higher.
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This world is becoming increasingly controlling of everyone, up to and including deciding who lives and dies. It’s time to see past the illusion. We cannot sustain this level of tyranny. The citizens need to wake up and band together. We need to stop propping up the ruling class by bowing to its enforcers. We need to stop fighting the rulers’ wars, and we need to remove our consent to be governed by refusing to participate in our own subjugation.