New Israeli Death Penalty Law: Entrenching Systemic Discrimination and Direct Targeting of Palestinians

The Israeli Knesset has finally approved new legislation granting military courts the authority to issue death sentences against Palestinians who carry out operations against Israeli targets. This step comes amid escalating hardline right-wing trends within the Israeli legislative body and represents a radical shift in criminal policy that has been in place for decades.

The new law stipulates the adoption of execution by hanging as a primary punishment in cases heard by the military judiciary, which is the legal path exclusively applied to Palestinians in the occupied territories. Observers believe that this amendment aims to tighten security control and impose a new legal reality that bypasses international and local human rights objections that warned of the repercussions of this step.

Legal experts pointed out that the structure of the law, despite its theoretical claim of universality for all citizens, was designed to be practically applied to Palestinians only. This analysis is based on the fact that Jewish extremists who commit similar crimes are tried before civilian courts that provide extensive legal guarantees, making the chances of death sentences against them almost non-existent.

This legislation reflects what human rights activists describe as a modern 'Saxony Law,' where punishments differ based on ethnic and religious identity rather than the nature of the crime committed. This duality is evident in the law's requirement of only a simple majority of military court judges to approve a death sentence, a very lenient standard compared to judicial systems that require full consensus in murder cases.

Furthermore, the military trials in which the law will be applied lack minimum guarantees of justice, including restrictions on the right to appeal or obtain a presidential pardon. Critics assert that these procedures undermine the principle of equality before the law and entrench a dual judicial system that treats Palestinians as targets for legal and physical elimination.

This legislative move coincides with field changes made by the Israeli army to the rules of engagement in the West Bank, giving soldiers a green light to use live ammunition against Palestinians. The new rules allow soldiers to open fire merely for feeling a perceived threat, completing a cycle of targeting that began with legislation in the Knesset and extends to field practices.

The wording of this law makes it practically applicable only to Palestinians, raising accusations of systemic discrimination in the application of justice.