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Israel expands death penalty law to include West Bank Palestinians

May 19, 2026

Israeli authorities expanded the use of the death penalty against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on 17 May, after military commander Avi Bluth signed an order authorizing military courts to carry out executions in so-called “security cases.”

The move transfers a law approved by the Knesset on 30 March into the military court system used exclusively against Palestinians living under occupation, deepening the discriminatory apartheid system.

Under directives from Israeli Army Minister Israel Katz, occupation authorities have decided to begin implementing the death penalty law promoted by ultranationalist Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Channel 14 reports.

According to the report, the… pic.twitter.com/peLgEEkalr

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 18, 2026

The amendment changes the “Security Instructions Order,” as the Knesset vote alone was not enough to enforce the law in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians are prosecuted under Israeli military orders rather than Israeli civil law.

This is apartheid by definition. pic.twitter.com/2XrJTXH65z

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) May 18, 2026

Under the new framework, Israeli military courts can sentence Palestinians to death for killing Israelis. Judges may issue life sentences only in exceptional cases, making execution the default punishment in most prosecutions.

⭕️ Israel Extends Death Penalty Law to West Bank Palestinians

The commander of Israel’s Central Command signed an order Sunday extending Israel’s new death penalty for “terrorism” law to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, despite warnings from Israeli legal officials that…

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) May 18, 2026

One condition for imposing the sentence is that the act was intended to “negate the existence of the State of Israel or the authority of the military commander in the area.”

The language of the law exclusively targets Palestinians resisting Israeli occupation and aggression, while Israeli citizens remain under civilian courts and are excluded from the law.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that “the era of containment is over,” adding that anyone who kills Israelis “will not wait for exchange deals and will not dream of being released.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir celebrated the measure as a political victory for his Jewish Power party, saying, “We promised and we fulfilled.”

Palestinian prisoner groups condemned the law as an “unprecedented act of savagery.”

Israeli rights groups, including Adalah, HaMoked, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, warned that it creates a “discriminatory punitive framework” that strips Palestinians of equal legal protections.

Maariv reported in early April that much of the Israeli public’s backlash focused on the law not going far enough, with many demanding it be expanded further.

The report, based on 18,000 posts and 600,000 interactions analyzed by Scooper, found that objections centered on making the law even harsher, not on human rights concerns.