Israel
Knesset committee advances bill on death penalty for anti-Israel terrorists
The bill would not impose the same sentence for Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians
November 4, 2025 11:54
The bill would not impose the same sentence for Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians
November 4, 2025 11:54A Knesset committee has advanced a contentious bill to impose the death penalty for terrorists who kill Israelis.
The law passed the Knesset National Security Committee yesterday after Gal Hirsch, Israel's lead hostage negotiator, informed members that the Prime Minister backed the measure and withdrew his own previous opposition to it.
"The prime minister’s position, and I spoke with him before the debate, is for the bill,” Hirsch told the panel.
He explained that he had previously opposed the measure for fear it would prompt Hamas retaliation against Israeli hostages.
But, as all living hostages have now been returned, he added: “The resistance I expressed in the previous debate has become redundant.”
The bill would allow courts to impose the death penalty on terrorists who kill Israelis, though it would not apply to Israeli extremists who kill Palestinians.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose far-right Otzma Yehudit party proposed the law, welcomed Netanyahu's support.
But he said the law should go further and give no discretion to courts on whether or not to impose the sentence.
"Every terrorist who goes out to murder must know that the death penalty will be imposed on him," he said.
The bill is now expected to be put before the Knesset for an initial reading on Wednesday.
Ben-Gvir had previously claimed that, if the legislation was blocked, he would no longer consider himself obligated to instruct his party to vote with the coalition, of which it is a member.
Elsewhere, the Knesset also passed, through its initial reading, a similarly contentious bill dealing with the regulation of broadcast media.
The law, sponsored by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, would establish a new regulatory council to oversee broadcast media.
Most of the members of this council would be appointed by the government and the new body would have the power to sanction channels, including through fines.
Karhi has insisted that the aim of the bill is to improve competition in the media market, but opponents have claimed it could open the door to censorship.
Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is currently locked in a long-running dispute with the government over its attempts to fire her, said the bill could lead to “political interference in the work of broadcast bodies and endanger the free press in Israel”.
Unusually, before the vote, Knesset Legal Advisor Sagit Afik warned lawmakers that the bill did not have Baharav-Miara’s formal approval, which would be legally required for it to be enacted.
Nonetheless, it passed first reading by a margin of 54-47.
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