DayofPal—Amnesty International has urged Israel to withdraw proposed legislation that would expand the use of the death penalty, warning the measures would violate international law and deepen Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the rights group said two bills currently under discussion in the Knesset would mark a sharp departure from Israel’s long-standing opposition to capital punishment and would disproportionately affect Palestinians.
The proposals, promoted by members of the governing coalition including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, would introduce the death penalty for certain offences, particularly those labelled by Israel as “terrorism”.
Amnesty said the legislation would make capital punishment “another discriminatory tool” used against Palestinians.
“These amendments would reserve the most extreme and irreversible punishment for Palestinians and weaponize it against them,” the organisation said.
If adopted, Amnesty warned, the bills would further isolate Israel from the majority of countries that have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, while entrenching discriminatory policies against Palestinians living under Israeli control.
Israeli authorities argue the measures are necessary to deter attacks. However, legal experts say the proposed laws would breach international legal standards and result in unequal and unjust treatment.
Israel abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in 1954 and has not carried out an execution since 1962.
While capital punishment remains on the books for exceptional crimes such as genocide and treason, Amnesty said the new legislation would revive its use while weakening safeguards against wrongful convictions.
One bill would amend Israeli penal and military laws applied in the occupied West Bank, effectively limiting the death penalty’s application to Palestinians by excluding Israeli settlers, who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.
Another proposal would establish a special military court to prosecute Palestinian resistance fighters took aprt in Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.
Amnesty said the timing of the legislation, during Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and escalating attacks in the occupied West Bank, raises further concerns about its intent and impact.
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