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Editorial: Celebrating Death with Champagne
The law passed 62-48 and requires executions within 90 days, while rights groups say it creates a two-tiered system for Palestinians.
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir outlined plans to establish a "death row" for Palestinian prisoners following the government's approval of the death penalty for certain offences.
- Lawmakers passed the "Terrorists Law" on March 30, 2026, by a vote of 62 to 48, mandating death by hanging for offences classified as "terrorism related" and applying exclusively to Palestinians.
- Citing a 96% conviction rate in military courts, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed a petition characterizing the law as "discriminatory by design" and challenging the 90-day execution timeline.
- On April 2, international groups "strongly condemned" the law, while The European Union urged Israel to "abandon" the legislation, citing commitments to democratic principles and human rights obligations.
- International experts warned the law violates international legal standards, while a State Department spokesperson noted the United States "respect Israel's sovereign right to determine its own laws" and trusts proceedings will include fair trial guarantees.
38 Articles
38 Articles
Images from the Knesset surprised many around the world. When Israel’s Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, unpacked a bottle of champagne to celebrate the passage of a law imposing the death penalty on terrorists whose aim is to destroy the State of Israel, he was widely condemned for demonstrating an execrable taste, for which he was reprimanded by the Knesset’s president, Amir Ohana. In fact, the negative reaction against the vote of 62 to 47 …
The foreign department is disturbed by the Israeli parliament's decision to punish terror with death.
How Israel’s death penalty law codifies killing under apartheid
The cheap celebrations added to the cruelty of the declaration. Champagne corks popped amid loud cheers and tears of joy as Israel’s Knesset passed a death penalty law that applies exclusively to Palestinian detainees and not Jewish Israelis. It is a brazen codification of a racial hierarchy that far surpasses even the excesses of apartheid South Africa. “It doesn't matter if it's by injection, poison, or rope; what's important is a death penalt…
The Conversation
Israel’s death penalty law has little to do with criminal justice and everything to do with ethno-nationalism
The vote to have death by hanging as the default for Palestinians guilty of killing Israelis represents the further entrenchment of a two-tier legal system.
Editorial: Celebrating death with champagne
What we witnessed in the Israeli parliament last week was nothing short of grotesque. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right security minister, champagne bottle in hand, a noose-shaped pin fixed proudly to his lapel, held his fist up and laughed as he celebrated the prospect of death. This was days after he filmed himself in front of...
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