The Israeli parliament (the Knesset) has approved amendments to the penal code that have triggered a broad wave of criticism, as they directly target Palestinians by introducing the death penalty in a legal framework designed to facilitate both its imposition and execution. The law applies to Palestinians across all legal classifications: citizens within the Green Line, residents of Jerusalem subject to civil law, and inhabitants of the territories occupied in 1967 who fall under military law. This amendment must be understood as part of a longer continuum of policy pursued by an occupying government intent on entrenching permanent control over Palestinian land. It operates within a legal architecture that differentiates between Palestinians in the occupied territories and Israeli settlers, as well as between Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish citizens, while reserving the right to self-determination over this land exclusively for Jews.

Far from representing a mere tightening of punitive measures, the amendment extends a broader official posture that devalues Palestinian lives, institutionalises racial discrimination, and advances the annexation of Palestinian territory, while simultaneously denying the reality of an overtly unlawful occupation. This posture has become increasingly explicit under the current right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and has become more evident in the aftermath of 7th October. The significance of this amendment lies not only in introducing a harsher penalty, but in formally legalising practices that have long existed on the ground. It effectively elevates them from the realm of de facto implementation to that of explicit legal sanction. For decades, the application of the death penalty within Israel’s legal system remained highly restricted and largely frozen, confined to the narrowest of circumstances. The current shift signals an acceleration toward a more rigid legal regime governing Palestinians, one that aligns with Israel’s evolving political ambitions in the Palestinian territories and toward their Palestinian population.

Far from representing a mere tightening of punitive measures, the amendment extends a broader official posture that devalues Palestinian lives, institutionalises racial discrimination, and advances the annexation of Palestinian territory, while simultaneously denying the reality of an overtly unlawful occupation.

Far from representing a mere tightening of punitive measures, the amendment extends a broader official posture that devalues Palestinian lives, institutionalises racial discrimination, and advances the annexation of Palestinian territory, while simultaneously denying the reality of an overtly unlawful occupation.

The amendment to the penal code mandates the execution of Palestinians by hanging, whether through Israeli civil courts within the Green Line or through military courts, which exercise jurisdiction over Palestinians in the territories occupied in 1967. In effect, this constitutes a form of de facto annexation. Under international law, the Knesset holds no authority to legislate for occupied Palestinian territory, yet this is part of a sustained policy that Israeli authorities have been advancing for years. In practice, this dual legal regime has already taken shape: Israeli civil law is applied to Jewish settlers residing in settlements built on occupied Palestinian land, while Palestinians living on that same land remain subject to military rule. In recent years, particularly under the current government, there has been a concerted push to expand the reach of civil law into the occupied territories, gradually displacing the military legal framework. This shift reflects a systematic denial of the reality of occupation and........

© Middle East Monitor