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Israeli Knesset debates death penalty for Palestinian prisoners 'within 90 days, without appeal'

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 19 November 2025 5:29 PM

The Israeli Knesset (parliament) is set to hold a hearing regarding a bill that would impose the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners within 90 days, without the possibility of appeal.

Details published on Tuesday revealed that the execution of these prisoners would be carried out via lethal injection by the Israel Prison Service.

The Otzma Yehudit party, led by hawkish Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir and promoter of the bill, stated that executions would target Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, including those involved in planned or alleged attacks.

Earlier this month, lawmakers approved the bill in the first of three required votes in the Knesset.

The legislation was pushed through on November 3, drawing widespread condemnation from Palestinians and human rights organizations. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the bill as a war crime, reflecting the regime's increasing extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people.

The ministry said that Israel's judicial system and Knesset serve as tools to legitimize crimes against Palestinians and ensure impunity. They said the measure extends the regime's atrocities in Gaza to the occupied West Bank, with serious implications for those abducted.

Both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned the bill, with Hamas asserting it reveals Israel's "ugly and fascist nature." Islamic Jihad warned that it puts thousands of Palestinians at risk of execution.

The bill allows judges to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on "nationalistic grounds," but does not apply similarly to cases of Israelis killing Palestinians.

The bill, first pushed by far-right Israeli parties before Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, resurfaced in recent months with renewed backing.

Ben-Gvir last month threatened to withdraw his party's support from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition unless it advances the legislation.

Ben-Gvir argued that enforcing the death penalty would serve as "a significant lever of pressure on Hamas" and should be part of Israel's "toolbox" in its war on the Palestinian resistance movement.

Palestinian prisoners have reported being held in harrowing conditions, particularly during the past two years of Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Multiple reports by prisoner rights organizations and the United Nations have detailed systematic abuse inside Israeli detention centers, including severe beatings, starvation, denial of family visits, and medical negligence.

According to rights groups, at least 98 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in Israeli custody since October 7, 2023.