Israel moves towards controversial death penalty revival

DW News · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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The last time Israel used the death penalty was in 1962 when it executed Adolf Eichmann, a leading figure in the Nazi Holocaust, after a lengthy trial in Jerusalem. However, decades later and in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terror attacks on 7 October 2023, there has been a new push by Israeli lawmakers to pass a highly controversial law re-establishing the death penalty — for Palestinians convicted by Israeli military courts. Opponents of the bill argue it is unethical and racist, discriminating between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, as it is designed to be applied only to Palestinians. The draft bill in its current form establishes a mandatory death sentence for certain crimes for Palestinians tried in military courts. In addition, the bill removes any possibility for a pardon or commutation of the sentence. The draft bill passed its first reading in November 2025 in Israel's Knesset. It was then returned to the National Security Committee for further deliberation and needs to go through a second and third reading to become law. It is unclear if, and when, this will happen. It is sponsored by lawmakers of the far-right Jewish Power party, with support from Likud and Yisrael Beitenu lawmakers. After the vote, Itamar Ben Gvir, head of Jewish Power and Minister of National Security, called the bill "the most important bill in the state of Israel's history." "Let every terrorist know — this bill is the bill that will deter. It is the bill that will frighten. It is the bill that will cause them to think a thousand times before committing another October 7," he said. For Itamar Ben Gvir, the bill is "the most important bill in the state of Israel's history"Image: Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/picture alliance Widespread domestic criticism Israeli opponents of the bill, among them security officials, former Supreme Court judges, doctors and rabbis, have criticized it in an open letter as "particularly extreme and exceptional provisions." Hagai Levine, chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians took part in the discussions at the Knesset and opposes the legislation. "We oppose this kind of death penalty, which is racist and without judgment, and without thinking about all the different considerations that you have to take into account," Levine said, who also headed the medical team of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum during the war. Levine acknowledges that the mood among parts of the Israeli public has shifted, with some seeking harsher punishment after the October 7 attacks. Over the years, there were several attempts to revive capital punishment but they didn't get very far. "I was the physician for the hostages and their families, and I saw the horrible impact on the lives of people and the murdering of innocent people. And I totally understand these feelings of revenge. But, you don't make your judgment based on your fury and revenge. We are a democratic country. We need to make good judgment for the benefit of the country,” he said. About 1,200 people were killed during the brutal assault and 251 Israelis and foreign nationals taken hostage by Hamas. In the ensuing devastating war in Gaza, more than 70,000 Palestinians were killed, with many more missing under the rubble. Several hundred Israeli soldiers have also died. "This Israeli bill is terrorizing for the Palestinian people, we are opposing it," Amjad Al Najjar, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoner Society, told DW from Ramallah. "It does create a lot of tension and fear for families of Palestinian prisoners."What's in the bill? The draft legislation stipulates that a person who caused the death of Israeli citizens "deliberately or through indifference, from a motive of racism or hostility against a population, and with the aim of harming the State of Israel and the national revival of the Jewish people in its homeland — shall be sentenced to death," said a Knesset announcement after the first reading. On another track, it also gives more power to military courts in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which is under military administration, and which exclusively try Palestinians under military law living there. According to the bill, military courts could impose "a death penalty by a regular majority of the judges in the panel, and a death penalty that was imposed cannot be commuted." The bill does not clearly define what is an act that intends to "harming the State of Israel" or the "revival of the Jewish people in its homeland." It's not clear what would qualify as "harming the State of Israel" or the "revival of the Jewish people in its homeland" Image: Majdi Mohammed/AP/dpa/picture alliance UN and Palestinian criticism Israeli, Palestinian and international opponents have pointed out that it violates the right to life, could end up executing innocent people and is far from being a real deterrent. Several experts of the United Nations Human Rights Council urged Israel to withdraw "a bill proposing the mandatory death penalty for terrorist acts, which would violate the right to life and discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory." In their statement, the experts further said that "by removing judicial and prosecutorial discretion, they prevent a court from considering the individual circumstances, including mitigating factors, and from imposing a proportionate sentence that fits the crime." Palestinian human rights association Addameer, which advocates for Palestinian detainees, said in a position paper that "the enactment of a new law imposing the death penalty exclusively against Palestinians marks a new episode in the ongoing series of oppression and constitutes a grave escalation in Israel's widespread violations against Palestinians, including hundreds of extrajudicial executions." In Israel, political correspondent Tal Schneider pointed out that Israel's domestic secret service, the Shin Bet, also known as Shabak, "in the past has objected to this," she said, adding that they thought it might backfire as it might encourage more attacks. History of the death penalty The death penalty exists in Israel for war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes legislated under military law in military courts. On the rare occasions they were handed down in military courts on terrorism-related offenses; all were turned into life sentences following appeals. Only two people have been executed following convictions carrying the death penalty in Israel. The first execution took place after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the establishment of Israel. Meir Tobianski, an army officer, was falsely accused of espionage, and executed for treason after a makeshift court martial. He was later posthumously exonerated. In 1962, the second execution took place when Adolf Eichmann was hanged after being convicted of Nazi war crimes. He had been captured in Argentina by an Israeli undercover unit and put on trial before a special court in Jerusalem. The last time Israel used the death penalty was in 1962 when it executed Adolf EichmannImage: BR Political maneuvers Critics say that those pushing for the death penalty reflect a hardening stance among parts of the Israeli public and are using it for their own political gains during an election year. Israel's general elections are scheduled for October 2026, but they could be called earlier. National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is one of the leading voices to bring back the death penalty. As on other issues, he has made a populist campaign out of it and repeatedly threatened to leave the coalition. During Ben Gvir's tenure as Minister for National Security, Israeli human rights groups such as Physicians for Human Rights have reported an increase in cases of abuse and torture in Israeli prisons and detention centres. Ben Gvir has published videos of himself taunting Palestinian prisoners in prison and boasting that they are being held under "minimum conditions”. According to Israeli human rights NGO HaMoked, 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. Edited by: Andreas Illmer