Execution of Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank comes into force
The commander of the Israeli army’s Central Command has granted military courts in the West Bank the authority to issue death sentences against Palestinians, implementing legislation approved by the Knesset two months ago.
Central Command chief Major General Avi Bluth signed a military order allowing the application of the death penalty to Palestinian prisoners from the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. This marks the first enforcement of the sentence since its adoption and approval by the Knesset.
The newspaper reported that Bluth signed an order granting military courts in the West Bank the authority to sentence Palestinians to death if they are convicted of killing Israelis motivated by the “denial of the existence of the State of Israel.”
It added that the law also includes a clause allowing military courts to replace the death sentence with life imprisonment if there are “special justifications” or “exceptional circumstances.”
The signing of this military order means that the application of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank has now entered into military enforcement in the area, as the West Bank is legally under Israeli military administration.
Last March, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) passed a law nicknamed the “execution of terrorists” in its second and third readings, supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid human rights criticism and Israeli legal warnings over its discriminatory nature.
According to Haaretz, the wording of the law makes its application almost exclusively directed at Palestinians, while the ideological evidentiary requirements make its application to extremist Jewish attackers “difficult or nearly impossible.”
The report also noted that the law does not apply to members of the Hamas “elite unit” involved in the 7 October 2023 attack, as a separate law has been enacted for them.
A week earlier, the Knesset approved legislation establishing a special military court for what Israel describes as Hamas “elite operatives,” following second and third readings.
During discussions in the Knesset’s National Security Committee, Israeli legal and professional bodies warned against applying civilian legislation enacted by the Knesset in the occupied West Bank to individuals who do not hold Israeli citizenship.
The committee’s legal adviser was quoted as saying that imposing the law on Palestinians represents a “major violation” of Israel’s long-standing policy, which has generally avoided directly applying Knesset legislation to West Bank residents.
The Israeli Justice Ministry representative, Lilach Wagner, also warned during the hearings that imposing the death penalty in the West Bank through civilian legislation is “highly problematic” from a legal standpoint.
Commenting on the law, Defence Minister Israel Katz was quoted by Haaretz as saying that “terrorists who kill Jews will not sit in comfortable prison conditions or wait for prisoner exchange deals.”
On 30 March, the Knesset passed the bill by a majority of 62 out of 120 members, with 48 voting against and one abstention.
The law stipulates the execution by hanging of prisoners whom Tel Aviv claims carried out or planned attacks that resulted in the killing of Israelis. The execution would be carried out by prison service guards, with provisions ensuring anonymity and legal immunity.
It allows for the death sentence to be issued without a request from the prosecution and does not require unanimity, as a simple majority is sufficient.
More than 9,600 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children and 73 women. According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations, they are subjected to torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has led to the deaths of dozens of detainees.
