The Knesset plenum on Monday evening approved a bill allowing the death penalty to be imposed on terrorists. The measure was initiated by coalition partner Otzma Yehudit, led by party chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in its second and third readings. The move marks a significant shift in Israel’s legal and security framework.
The State of Israel already has a death penalty on the books, with capital punishment existing in Israeli law for offenses such as treason and waging war against the state. Nonetheless, the death penalty has been applied only once, in the 1962 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, the first and last person to be executed in the Jewish State to this point.
The new law will enable courts to impose the death penalty without a request from prosecutors and without requiring a unanimous vote by a panel of judges, relying instead on a simple majority decision. Military courts in Judea and Samaria will also be empowered to hand down death sentences, with Israel’s defense minister empowered to submit an opinion.
AFSI’s take:
Israel bears the duty to safeguard its citizens. The continuous acts of terrorism directed at the Jewish Nation State, most recently the horrific massacre on October 7, 2023, necessitate significantly more stringent actions than those currently in place. Regrettably, the true effectiveness of this measure in the long term will only be revealed once this new legislation is implemented. It could still face judicial review as well as be challenged. It remains uncertain whether it will successfully deter potential terrorists from attempting to harm Israelis.