NAZARETH, (PIC)
In a move widely described as one of the most dangerous legislative developments tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel’s Knesset has approved a law permitting the execution of Palestinian prisoners, a step that has triggered sharp Palestinian and international condemnation, with critics warning it represents a new mechanism for institutionalized discrimination and collective punishment.
The legislation comes amid the growing dominance of the far-right within Israel’s governing coalition, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who championed the law under the banner of “deterrence.” Observers, however, argue that its motivations are political and punitive, extending far beyond the boundaries of ordinary judicial practice.
On Monday evening, March 30, 2026, the Knesset passed the bill in its second and third readings by a vote of 62 in favor, 48 against, and one abstention out of 120 members, with the backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The vote followed approval by the Knesset’s National Security Committee the previous week, after undisclosed amendments were introduced before the legislation was sent for final ratification.
Exceptional legislation with severe provisions
The law mandates the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in cases classified as “terrorism,” while nearly eliminating traditional legal safeguards. Among its most controversial provisions:
• Execution must be carried out within 90 days of the final ruling.
• Appeals against the sentence are effectively prohibited.
• Executions will be performed by a masked prison officer, whose identity remains concealed.
• The executioner receives full criminal and civil immunity.
• Sentences cannot be commuted or overturned once issued.
• Prisoners sentenced to death will be held in underground solitary confinement, denied visits until execution.
Human rights advocates argue that these clauses dismantle fundamental standards of justice, transforming military courts into rapid enforcement mechanisms operating with minimal oversight.
A law of retaliation, not justice
Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, said the legislation cannot be separated from broader Israeli policies increasingly rooted in what he described as a nationality-based discriminatory system.
In press remarks, Barghouti called the law “a qualitative shift from traditional repression toward legalized revenge,” warning that embedding executions within a political context effectively legitimizes killing outside genuine justice.
He argued that the law’s significance lies not only in its text but in what it reveals about structural changes inside Israel’s political system.
“The far right is no longer merely influential,” he said. “It now dictates policy, advancing legislation that normalizes discrimination and undermines any realistic prospects for justice or peace.”
Barghouti further warned that the law risks intensifying tensions by reinforcing Palestinian perceptions that they are targeted collectively rather than treated as individuals subject to a fair legal system.
History, he added, demonstrates that execution policies and repression have never broken the will of oppressed peoples; instead, they deepen resistance and strengthen demands for rights.
An attempt to legalize killing inside prisons
Qadura Fares, former head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, described the law as the most dangerous stage yet in Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
“What we are witnessing,” Fares said, “is a clear attempt to legalize killing inside prisons under the cover of law.”
He argued that Israel has moved beyond policies of detention and alleged abuse toward formally granting legal legitimacy to ending prisoners’ lives.
According to Fares, the legislation exposes what he described as a judicial system increasingly deployed to serve political and security objectives rather than impartial justice. Celebrations by some Israeli officials following the bill’s passage, he said, reflected “a profound moral decline” demonstrating that the goal is not justice but revenge.
Fares warned that hundreds of detainees could now face genuine danger, particularly given the large number of cases pending before Israeli military courts, and called for urgent international intervention.
A direct violation of international law
Palestinian human rights lawyer Farid al-Atrash argued that the law constitutes a clear breach of international legal norms, especially the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of prisoners under occupation.
Denying defendants the right to appeal while accelerating executions, he said, undermines the most basic guarantees of fair trial standards and risks turning the judiciary into a political instrument of the executive branch.
Imposing capital punishment within the framework of military occupation, al-Atrash warned, represents a grave violation that could rise to the level of a war crime.
He added that the legislation entrenches a dual legal system in which Palestinians and Israelis are subjected to fundamentally different standards of justice, urging immediate international accountability measures and pressure to halt implementation of the law.
Fears of legal and field escalation
Analysts warn that the legislation could have far-reaching consequences on the ground, potentially fueling further escalation and eroding what little confidence remains in legal institutions.
Human rights organizations also caution that the law risks deepening Israel’s international isolation as criticism mounts over alleged violations of global human rights standards.