The measure passed 93-0 in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, reflecting widespread support for punishing the Palestinians for resisting the Israeli occupation. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained from voting.

The bill is separate from a law passed in March that approved the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane.

That law applies to future cases and is not retroactive, so it could not apply to those suspected of carrying out the 7 October 2023 attack on the Israeli army.

Rights groups have criticized the measure, saying it makes the death penalty too easy to impose while also doing away with procedures safeguarding the right to a fair trial. Defendants can appeal their sentences, but the appeals must be heard by a separate special appeals court rather than regular appeals courts.

The bill empowers a panel of judges to hand down the death penalty by a majority vote — and requires the trials to be conducted in a livestreamed Jerusalem courtroom.

Opponents of the bill also say that livestreaming the proceedings before guilt is established risks turning the trials into a spectacle. They have raised questions about the reliability of the evidence that may be presented, saying it could have been extracted by harsh interrogation methods.

Simcha Rothman, one of the bill’s sponsors who is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition, said the overwhelming consensus for the bill in the Knesset shows Israeli lawmakers can come together “around a common mission.”

According to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, the country still holds about 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza without charge in its detention facilities.

At least 7,000 Palestinians from Gaza had been held in Israeli custody since October 2023, and 5,000 of them were later released.

*This story is edited by Ahram Online.

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