Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, passed a controversial law this week, mandating the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of terrorist acts, drawing condemnation from the European Union and the United Nations.
The legislation, approved by a 62-47 vote, was backed by Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, The Times of Israel reported. The bill says that people in the West Bank who kill an Israeli "with the intent to negate the existence of the State of Israel" will face the death penalty.
Judges may impose life imprisonment only under vaguely defined "special circumstances," while executions must take place within 90 days of sentencing. The law requires only a simple majority of judges to hand down the sentence and removes any right of appeal.
It is designed to apply to future cases and will not be applied retroactively, including to perpetrators of the 2023 Hamas-led attacks on October 7, whose prosecution will be addressed under a separate bill. The law has drawn condemnation from Palestinian authorities and international bodies.
Israel forging new alliances against Iran: NetanyahuPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is quietly building new regional alliances to counter Iran. In an address this week, Netanyahu said Israel is forging ties with “important countries in the region” to confront what he called the “Iranian threat.” “We are creating new alliances with important countries in the region,” he said, without naming the countries involved. “Soon, I will be able to tell you more about these important pacts.” He framed the outreach as part of a broader strategy following what he described as major battlefield gains. |
