“Terrorist” Law.
Israel prefers the death penalty – but only for Palestinians
11/11/2025 – 12:58Reading time: 1 minute.
Israel’s parliament decides to reintroduce the death penalty for terrorists. However, the maximum penalty does not apply to Israeli citizens.
Israel’s parliament in its first session voted to approve a bill introducing the death penalty for convicted “terrorists”. A majority of 39 votes to 16 voted in favor of the project Monday night. To become law, it still needs a vote on the second and third readings. The proposal would allow the death penalty to be imposed on Palestinians who kill Israelis, but not against Israelis who kill Palestinians.
The Knesset’s National Security Committee approved plans to change the criminal law last week. The committee’s explanation of the bill states that “terrorists” who are “convicted of murder based on racist motives or out of hatred of society” should in future be “compulsorily” sentenced to death. This also applies to “circumstances where the act is committed with the aim of harming the State of Israel.”
The aim of the planned changes is to “get to the roots of terrorism” and provide a “powerful deterrent”.
Under Israeli law, the death penalty can already be imposed for certain crimes. In fact, the last time this was done in Israel was in 1962 – against former German SS-Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, one of the main organizers of the deportation of European Jews to Nazi extermination camps, who had previously been convicted by a Jerusalem court.
