Ben Gvir's party finalizes 'death penalty for terrorists' bill, seeks to hang terrorists within 90 days of sentence

The final text of the proposed death penalty bill for terrorists, advanced by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, was published for the first time on Tuesday morning by KAN News.

According to the formulated text, the death penalty would be carried out by hanging. The sentence would be executed by a prison guard appointed for that purpose by the Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service.

The bill stipulates that the identities of the executing guards will remain confidential and that they will be granted full criminal immunity.

Convicted terrorists would be incarcerated in a separate detention facility and would not be allowed to receive visitors, except for authorized personnel. Their meetings with lawyers would be conducted exclusively by video conference rather than in person.

The death sentence would be carried out within 90 days of the ruling. Attendance at the execution would include the prison warden, a judicial representative, an official witness, and a representative of the terrorist’s family.

The final version of the Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) bill, submitted by Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech, omitted references to prosecuting the terrorists behind the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Instead, it focuses on legal discretion and the procedural aspects of carrying out the executions.

The proposed death penalty bill for terrorists, discussed by the Knesset’s National Security Committee, chaired by Zvika Fogel, stipulates that a death sentence may be imposed even without the prosecution’s request. The verdict may also be reached by a simple majority, without requiring a unanimous decision by the judges.

The bill distinguishes between the death penalty for terrorists in Judea and Samaria (known internationally as the West Bank), for whom the death penalty would be mandatory and open to appeal on the verdict but not the sentence, and terrorists in the rest of the country, where courts could impose either the death penalty or life imprisonment with no option for early release.

Minister Ben Gvir said the bill does not leave the discretion in the hands of the Attorney General, as it allows for the death penalty to be imposed even if she opposes it. 

Ben Gvir added, “We will not rest, and we will not stop until the terrorists are executed, because those who brutally murder cannot continue to live and see the light of day. The death penalty is needed so that others will see the consequences and be deterred."