The Death Penalty for Terrorists Law () is a 2026 Israeli law. It prescribes death by hanging for certain terrorist offences, and in practice applies only to Palestinians and not Jews. The bill was passed 62âÂÂ48 by the Knesset on 30 March 2026.
Before the passage of the law, capital punishment in Israel under existing laws had been carried out twice, against Meir Tobianski, who was falsely accused of treason during the 1948 ArabâÂÂIsraeli War, and against former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann.
The bill was initiated by the Otzma Yehudit, or "Jewish Power" party, a far-right political party led by national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Members of the party began wearing noose-shaped pins on their lapel during sessions of the Knesset in support of the bill.
Support among Israelis for the death sentence for terrorists remained high following the October 7 attacks, with several surveys since 2017 showing over 60% supportive. In November 2025, an âÂÂOn the Agendaâ poll conducted by Mashav found 81% support among the Jewish Israelis for executing convicted Nukhba terrorists.
On 10 November 2025, the bill passed its first reading.
On 25 March 2026, the final version of the bill was approved by a parliamentary committee.
Before the vote, Ben-Gvir said "From today, every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever takes a life, the State of Israel will take their life"; he wore a noose-shaped pin on his lapel during the vote.
The bill was passed 62âÂÂ47. All the parties that formed the 2022 Netanyahu-led coalition, excepting the Agudat Yisrael, faction of United Torah Judaism (UTJ), voted in favour, including the Likud, Shas, Jewish Power, New Hope, Religious Zionism and the Degel HaTorah faction of UTJ (which later left the coalition). The right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beitenu supported the bill. All other parties voted against the bill; these included Yesh Atid, Blue and White, The Democrats, and the Arab parties Ra'am, Hadash, and Ta'al.
The law imposes the death penalty on persons convicted of fatal terrorist attacks. In military courts, the death penalty is the "default"; only Palestinians are tried. In civilian courts, both Israelis and Palestinians are tried, but the law applies only to those who "'intentionally cause the death of a person with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel'âÂÂa definition designed to exclude Jewish terrorists". It therefore "effectively enshrines capital punishment for Palestinians alone".
The law permits life imprisonment as an alternative in "vaguely defined 'special circumstances'"; the death penalty is otherwise "mandatory" and "must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing".
Yoav Sapir, a law professor who previously headed Israel's public defenders' office, and Volker Türk (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) said the bill discriminated against Palestinians since it would only apply to them. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said such discrimination amounted to apartheid
Carolyn Hoyle (professor of criminology and director of the death penalty research unit at Oxford) and Ron Dudai (criminology research associate at Ben-Gurion University) argued that the death penalty is ineffective in general and against terrorism in particular, in an expert opinion submitted to the Supreme Court of Israel (see ).
A statement by Israeli scholars of international law said the death penalty law was immoral, discriminated against Palestinians by effectively only applying to them, and violated both Israeli and international law.
Several countries, international organisations and groups condemned the law, includingâÂÂ
Editorials in The Guardian and Haaretz condemned the law.
Jewish and/or liberal Zionist groups including the US Reform movement, J Street, the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, T'ruah, the New Israel Fund, Partners for Progressive Israel, and JSpace Canada condemned the law. The US Jewish Conservative movement expressed reservations. The Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Agency for Israel and Jewish Federations of North America said they had no comment.
On 31 March the Israel Police violently dispersed protesters against the law in West Jerusalem.
Following the passage of the law, challenges against the law were launched or announced byâÂÂ