Israeli military courts in the occupied West Bank can now impose death sentences on Palestinians convicted of carrying out “deadly attacks” after the head of Israel’s military Central Command signed an order putting a new execution law into effect, Israeli media reported Monday.
The order, signed by Central Command chief Avi Bluth, implements legislation passed by the Knesset on March 30 expanding the use of the death penalty in Israel’s military judicial system in the occupied territories, according to the Times of Israel. The law allows military courts to sentence Palestinians to death in cases Israel classifies as “terrorism,” lowers the threshold for issuing death sentences from unanimous rulings to a simple majority, and bars pardons or sentence reductions once verdicts become final, requiring executions to be carried out within 90 days.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a joint statement that Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, describing them as “terrorists who murder Jews”, would no longer be able to rely on prisoner exchanges, good detention conditions, or the possibility of future release once tried.
Hamas condemned the new law, calling it “a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international norms and laws” in a statement issued Monday. The group said it would not deter Palestinians from “continuing their struggle and resistance,” and urged the international community and rights organizations to pressure Israel to revoke the law and hold its leaders accountable for what it described as crimes against Palestinians.
The legislation had already triggered condemnation from Palestinian factions and international governments after its passage in March. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the measure as “institutional execution driven by racism,” while Hamas and other Palestinian groups warned it endangered prisoners’ lives, calling for increased protests inside Israel and in the diaspora. Germany, France, Italy, and Britain also raised concerns in a joint statement over what they called the law’s “discriminatory nature.”
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticized the law, saying it entrenches legal discrimination and risks irreversible rulings in a judicial system that applies broad definitions of “terrorism.” Rights groups and international observers have also argued that the law is effectively one-sided: it is aimed only at Palestinians, not accounting for Jewish Israelis accused of killing Palestinians.
Within Israel, civilian courts may impose the death penalty or life imprisonment for intentional killings if they are committed with the aim of “negating the existence of the State of Israel”—a wording that would primarily, if not exclusively, be applied to Palestinians.
The execution law advanced through the Knesset after the National Security Committee approved it for a second time, dismissing more than 2,000 objections ahead of the final parliamentary vote.
Earlier this month, the Knesset also approved a separate bill to establish a special court empowered to issue death sentences against people accused of participating in the October 7, 2023 attack, prompting further warnings about the politicization of trials and their transformation into tools of deterrence and revenge rather than ordinary judicial proceedings.
