A joint statement published by Amnesty International says Israel’s Knesset approved a bill on 30 March that makes the death penalty “effectively mandatory” in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) and is designed to apply de facto exclusively to Palestinians. The statement, signed by humanitarian and human rights organizations working in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, calls the move a significant regression and urges urgent EU measures.
According to the statement, the bill — introduced by the party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — expands the use of the death penalty in both military and civilian courts. While Israeli law has long provided for the death penalty in limited cases such as genocide and wartime espionage, Israel has not carried out executions nor imposed death sentences since 1962, the text notes.
West Bank provision: default death sentence, settlers excluded
The statement says that in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem), the law makes death the default sentence for intentional killings classified as “terrorism” under Israeli legislation, allowing only life imprisonment — and only in undefined “special circumstances.” It adds that military courts may impose capital punishment by a simple majority even without a prosecutorial request; sentences cannot be commuted or pardoned and must be carried out within 90 days. The statement notes Israeli settlers in the West Bank are explicitly excluded from this provision.
Inside Israel and a “secrecy” execution regime
Within Israel, civilian courts may impose the death penalty or life imprisonment for intentional killings committed with the aim of “negating the existence of the State of Israel,” the statement says. It argues the law introduces an exceptional hanging-based execution regime characterized by secrecy and limited access to legal counsel and external oversight.
Call for EU action: suspend the trade component
Reiterating the EU’s consistent opposition to capital punishment, the statement claims the new law breaches internationally recognized safeguards and violates protections under international humanitarian and human rights law. It argues EU diplomacy has been ineffective and urges the EU to uphold its principles by suspending, as a minimum immediate measure, the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
The statement also references an EU review conducted in June 2025 under Article 2 of the Agreement that found Israel in breach of its human rights obligations for serious abuses against Palestinians and violations of the laws of war, and says action is long overdue.
