An in-depth look at Israel's new death penalty law

Over the years, there have been several attempts to revive capital punishment in Israel, but they didn't get very far. Until now. On Monday, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed the "Penal Bill (Amendment ― Death Penalty for Terrorists)," making the controversial legislation the law of the land.

The death penalty has previously existed in Israel for war crimes. It was abolished in 1954 for ordinary crimes and in peace time, but technically it has remained permissible for crimes against humanity or against the Jewish people, as well as under certain circumstances under martial law.

On the rare occasions the death penalty was previously handed down in military courts on terrorism-related offenses, it was commuted to life sentences following appeals.

However, in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terror attacks on October 7, 2023, there had been a new push by Israeli lawmakers to pass the highly controversial law re-establishing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted by Israeli military and criminal courts.

Proponents of the bill argued that harsher punishment was necessary after the October 7 terror attacks, and that the mood among parts of the Israeli public had shifted accordingly. Opponents of the bill argued it was unethical, unconstitutional and racist, discriminating between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians.

A total of 62 of 120 lawmakers in the Knesset voted to approve the bill Monday night, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while 48 voted against it. The rest abstained or were not present for the vote. In theory, the new law could still be revised or even struck down by the Israeli supreme court.