Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (far right) at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, after the vote in Jerusalem, March 30, 2026. ITAY COHEN/AP
It was a "historic opportunity," in the words of Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the leaders of the far-right religious movement, who has been advocating openly racist rhetoric and policy for years. In a historic and grim moment for Israel, a bill introducing the death penalty for Palestinians accused of murders as part of "terrorist" acts was adopted on Monday, March 30. The law, passed by 62 lawmakers to 48, marks a turning point in criminal policy and further undermines the rule of law in Israel.
The law introduces the death penalty for men and women found guilty of murder committed in the name of rejecting "the existence of Israel." In practice, this means that Jews are not subject to the law; this includes settlers carrying out acts of terror against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. "The only circumstance under which the death penalty would be imposed would be for a crime whose intent is to erase the State of Israel, which is most likely to apply exclusively to Palestinian defendants," noted the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). "The two bills currently advancing in the Knesset seek to impose the death penalty exclusively on Palestinians, threatening to create a regime of racialized capital punishment," warned the advocacy groups Hamoked, Adalah and Physicians for Human Rights, all of which defend human rights.
