Israeli death penalty bill targets involvement in October 7th

Palestinians imprisoned for alleged involvement in the October 7th, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel could be eligible for the death penalty under a bill, according to Itamar Ben-Gvir, as reported by the Middle East Eye and agencies on December 19th.

In a post on X, the Israeli National Security Minister published an updated version of the “Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill”, which could permit Israel to execute Palestinians accused of participating in the October 7th attacks, which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel.

Ben-Gvir wrote that under the updated bill, Palestinians accused of perpetrating the attacks would receive the death penalty as a “mandatory sentence.”

The proposed amendment is for a bill, which passed its first Knesset reading in November, although two subsequent readings are required before the bill becomes law.

Under the bill, Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on “nationalistic grounds” would be eligible for execution, although Israelis convicted of similar crimes would seemingly be exempt.

Limor Son Har-Melech of the far-right Jewish Power Party advocated for the bill, which has also received support from Ben-Gvir, the party’s leader in Israel’s Likud-led coalition government.

Har-Melech’s is a controversial figure for many. She told Ynet that “There is no moral justification for keeping Jews in prison who, even if they made a mistake, pose no danger to the public.”

According to the Israeli National Security Committee, the bill’s purpose is to “cut off terrorism at its root“; however, the definition of terrorism seems broad due to Ben-Gvir’s designation of Palestinian Authority officials as terrorists, while other Israeli officials have described Palestinians who burn waste as terrorists.

While it is unclear if the ministers’ designation of Palestinians as terrorists would make them eligible for the death penalty, Ben-Gvir has previously expressed that Palestinian detainees “deserve a death penalty law.”

At a parliament meeting on December 8th, several Jewish Power politicians wore noose-shaped pendants to signal support for executing Palestinians.

In October, Ben-Gvir was among 55 Knesset members to sign a letter urging President Isaac Herzog to pardon Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians.

Among those Herzog was being urged to pardon was Amiram Ben-Uliel, who was convicted over the 2015 firebombing of the Palestinian Dawabsheh family home, which killed three people.

This letter highlights an increasingly blatant contempt for Palestinian life from Israeli officials, which has become more apparent amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and escalating violence from Israeli settlers in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org