Knesset debate reveals details of Israeli bill to execute Palestinian prisoners by lethal injection

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout and Mohammad Sio

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) – An intense debate inside the Israeli Knesset’s National Security Committee on Wednesday revealed details of a draft bill that would authorize the execution of Palestinian prisoners, including the use of a lethal injection and a complete ban on appeals, according to footage released by the Knesset Channel.

The committee met to prepare the bill for its second and third readings before it can become law, the channel said.

Clips posted by the channel of the heated discussion on the US social media company X showed the provisions drafted by the bill’s sponsor, the far-right Jewish Power Party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Under these provisions, the bill would apply to anyone who kills a Jew “for being Jewish,” including planning or carrying out such an act, and would mandate the death penalty as the sole punishment.

The provisions state the sentence would be imposed “by a simple majority, without the possibility of appeal or commutation through bargaining or pardon.”

The details also show that the execution would be carried out by the Israel Prison Service using a lethal injection.

To prevent delays, the bill requires the sentence to be carried out within 90 days of the court's ruling.

A sharp confrontation erupted during the session between Ben-Gvir and opposition lawmaker Gilad Kariv of the Yesh Atid Party.

“A state cannot be governed by revenge. No appeals, no additional discussion and no requirement for collective approval,” Kariv said, describing the bill as “racist because it applies only when a Jewish victim is killed.”

He called the proposal drafted “by an extremist and bigoted group,” and said it aligns with parties whose leader “hangs a photo of Baruch Goldstein in his living room,” referring to the perpetrator of the 1994 Hebron massacre that killed 29 Palestinian worshippers.

Israeli media have previously reported that Ben-Gvir displays a picture of Goldstein in his home in a settlement in Hebron.

“I hope your children do not grow up with your values. You are a father raising your children on the legacy of a killer and terrorist,” Kariv addressed Ben-Gvir.

Israel Hayom newspaper said that Kariv was expelled from the committee session following the confrontation.

The newspaper reported that the Israeli Medical Association informed the committee that no doctor would cooperate with carrying out the death penalty.

Ben-Gvir insisted that “doctors say the opposite and support the punishment.”

“I understand you want us to kill them by hanging or shooting,” he added.

The Knesset passed the bill in its first reading on Nov. 11, with 39 votes in favor and 16 against out of 120 members.

Ben-Gvir has repeatedly pushed for legislation permitting the execution of Palestinian prisoners, and has tightened prison conditions for detainees, including restricting visits, reducing food allowances and limiting shower access, according to Palestinian prisoner organizations.

The parliamentary push comes as Palestinians endure the aftermath of an Israeli genocidal war in Gaza that has killed more than 69,000 people and injured over 170,000 others since October 2023.