Israel's parliament has approved a law that would make the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of deadly terror attacks.
Critics have described the new law as discriminatory and several European nations warn it risks undermining 'democratic principles.'
The new law passed its third and final reading in the Knesset by 62 votes to 48 on Monday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voting in favour.
The bill stipulates that Palestinians convicted in Israeli military courts of carrying out deadly attacks deemed to be 'acts of terrorism' would be executed by hanging within 90 days, with a possible postponement of up to 180 days.
In theory, Jewish Israelis could also be executed under the law - but in practice this almost certainly would not happen, as the death penalty could only be carried out where the intention of the attack was to 'negate the existence of the state of Israel'.
The legislation was pushed hard by the far-right, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as its driving force. After the vote, he posted on X: 'We made history!!! We promised. We delivered.'
A member of Ben-Gvir's party, Limor Son-Har-Melech, who survived an attack by Palestinian gunmen in which her husband was killed, argued that the law was necessary, citing how one of her husband's killers was later released only to take part in the 10/7 attacks on Israel.
During the debate in the Knesset, she said: 'For years, we endured a cruel cycle of terror, imprisonment, release in reckless deals, and the return of these human monsters to murder Jews again.'
But Yair Golan, the leader of opposition Democrats party, criticized the legislation and said it would lead to international sanctions.
'The death penalty law for terrorists is an unnecessary piece of legislation designed to get Ben-Gvir more likes,' he said. 'It does not contribute one ounce to Israel's security.'
On the eve of the vote, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy expressed their 'deep concern,' saying that the bill risked 'undermining Israel's commitments with regard to democratic principles.'
The Palestinian Authority condemned the adoption of the law, stating it 'seeks to legitimize extrajudicial killing under legislative cover.'
Hamas, which controls Gaza, warned that the approval of the bill 'threatens the lives' of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and called for international guarantees for their protection.
Amnesty International urged Israeli authorities to repeal the new law, arguing that Israel is effectively granting itself license to execute Palestinians while stripping away essential fair-trial safeguards.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has already petitioned the country's Supreme Court against the law, stating that the legislation is unconstitutional, discriminatory by design, and enacted without legal authority for West Bank Palestinians.
The Supreme Court is now expected to consider whether to take up the challenge against the bill.
Notably, Israel has executed only two people in its history - one of them being Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, a key figure in the Holocaust.
}
