Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other lawmakers celebrated with champagne on Monday after the Knesset approved a new law establishing the death penalty as the standard punishment for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in military courts, marking a significant shift in Israeli penal policy.
The legislation, passed by 62 votes to 48, creates a framework in which the death penalty — by hanging — becomes the automatic sentence for Palestinians from the West Bank convicted in military courts of murders classified as “acts of terrorism.”
The law also allows Israeli civil courts to apply either capital punishment or life imprisonment in cases involving Israeli citizens. However, in practice, it is expected to affect almost exclusively Palestinians, since military courts try West Bank residents who do not hold Israeli citizenship.
Images and videos widely shared on social media show Ben-Gvir opening champagne bottles in the parliamentary chamber shortly after the vote, a gesture that sparked international criticism and protests both within Israel and abroad.
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Human rights groups and foreign governments have condemned the new law as discriminatory and in violation of international law. Organizations such as the Association for Civil Rights in Israel have already filed appeals with the country’s Supreme Court, describing the legislation as “discriminatory by design” and questioning the parliament’s legal authority to legislate over the West Bank population.
There was also criticism from international leaders. Spain’s prime minister described the measure as “a step toward apartheid,” noting that the death penalty would not be applied equally to Israelis committing similar crimes.
