Israel’s parliament is advancing a deeply controversial bill that would allow the execution of Palestinian prisoners by hanging, according to Israeli media, contradicting earlier official claims that lethal injection would be used.
Haaretz reported on Tuesday that the draft legislation explicitly states executions would be carried out by hanging, performed by a specially appointed prison officer.
The bill, introduced by far-right lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech of the Otzma Yehudit party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has reached its second and third readings in the Knesset. No date has been set for a final vote.
Under the proposal, the Israel Prison Service commissioner would appoint the executioner, with the process overseen by a prison warden, a judicial representative and a member of the prisoner’s family. Executions could proceed even if some overseers are absent, to avoid delays, the bill states.
Full immunity to involved officials
The legislation grants full civil and criminal immunity to officials involved and bars any commutation, appeal, or cancellation once a death sentence is issued.
Prisoners sentenced to death would be held in complete isolation, with visits limited to authorised personnel, and executions would be carried out within 90 days of a final ruling.
Details of executions would be published by the Israel Prison Service, while the identities of those carrying them out would remain confidential.
The reported method of hanging directly contradicts a statement posted by the Knesset on social media last November, which said executions would be conducted by lethal injection.
Trials before high-ranked military judges
The bill frames capital punishment as mandatory for anyone who kills a Jew “solely because they are Jewish,” including those accused of planning or facilitating such acts.
Death sentences could be imposed without a request from the attorney general, and trials would be held before military judges of lieutenant colonel rank or higher.
The Knesset approved the bill in a first reading in November by a vote of 39 to 16, according to Israel’s public broadcaster.
Ben-Gvir has long advocated executing Palestinian prisoners and has overseen sweeping restrictions on detention conditions.
Rights groups say Israel has sharply escalated abuses against Palestinian detainees since the start of the Gaza war, citing torture, starvation, sexual violence and denial of medical care.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since October 2023 has killed more than 71,000 people, mostly women and children, and wounded over 170,000 others, according to Palestinian health authorities.
