Israeli parliament approves capital punishment only for Palestinians

In a preliminary reading, the Israeli parliament approved a bill instituting the death penalty only on Palestinians. 

The unusual legislation allows Israeli courts to impose capital punishment against Palestinians who have perpetrated a nationalistically motivated murder of a citizen of Israel. The legislation, however, does not apply to an Israeli who kills a Palestinian.  

MK Limor Sonn Har Melech from the extremist Jewish power party sponsored the bill. Yisrael Beitnu, a party outside the ruling coalition,  advanced similar legislation. The two pieces of legislation will likely be merged for future readings in the parliament. 

Earlier, the Israeli cabinet supported the bill. 

55 MKs supported the bill, while  9 opposed it.

The genocidal statement of the settler Smotrich is a continuation of the Nakba: Since 1948 Israel has ethnically cleansed hundreds of Palestinian villages, legislated to consolidate exile of our people & theft of our properties, yet some still think Smotrich is the exception. pic.twitter.com/MeuYAFD58L

— Sami Abou Shahadeh (@ShahadehAbou) March 2, 2023

The proposed piece of legislation comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Palestinians and Israelis. On Sunday, hundreds of Jewish radicals stormed the town of Huwara and surrounding villages in the occupied West Bank, killing one Palestinian and setting fire to homes, cars and trees. 

The bill will now go to the House Committee before returning to the Knesset for the first reading. 

The Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Adalah, called the legislation "immoral" and indicative of the "Knesset's effort to establish two separate legal systems based on race."

Itamar ben Gvir said this proposal aims to "sever terror and create substantial deterrence."

Ynet news reported that Baharav-Miara, Israel's attorney general, was against the proposed legislation because it wouldn't serve as a deterrent since the perpetrators are ideologically motivated and willing to accept being killed anyway.

Member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi opposed the legislation. 

"We have always been against the death penalty,​ for any offense, but not only us; [a vast majority of Members of Knesset] objected to it, and there are Jewish and religious Members of Knesset who have ​opposed it on moral religious grounds. There is a ruling of the Chief Rabbi against capital punishment. Rabbi Herzog and Rabbi Ovadia opposed it.