The bill, submitted by the far-right “Ustma Yehudit” party headed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, aims to impose the death penalty on anyone accused of deliberately or negligently causing the death of an Israeli citizen motivated by racism or hatred and to harm Israel, without allowing for mitigation of the sentence.
The voting session witnessed a heated argument between Arab MP Ayman Odeh and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, which almost escalated into a fight. Ben-Gvir confirmed after the law was passed via his account on the “X” platform that his party was “on its way to making history” and that the law would represent an achievement for his policies in dealing with “saboteurs.”
For its part, Hamas commented on the decision on Tuesday, considering it an attempt to legitimize the organized mass killing of Palestinians, stressing that the law represents an extension of the racist and criminal approach of the Israeli government and a violation of international laws and human rights.
The movement called on the international community, the United Nations and all human rights organizations to condemn the legislation and impose deterrent sanctions on Israel, in addition to forming international commissions of inquiry to look into the conditions of Palestinian prisoners who face torture and official abuse in Israeli prisons, which has resulted in the death of many of them.
More than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, are held in Israeli prisons. According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports, they are subjected to torture and deliberate medical neglect as part of a strict Israeli policy that includes preventing visits, reducing food, and restricting showering, within the framework of increasing repressive measures against prisoners.
The first reading approval of legislation to execute prisoners comes as Palestinians suffer the consequences of a two-year-long genocide perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 8, 2023, in addition to a bloody and destructive assault on the occupied West Bank.