The Knesset approved on Monday evening, in its second and third readings, a controversial bill allowing for the imposition of the death penalty for terrorists.

The measure passed by a vote of 62-48, with one member absent.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and MKs from his coalition voted in favor of the law. Yisrael Beyteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman, who was not present for the first round of naming Knesset members, voted in favor during the second round. Conversely, members of the Degel Hatorah party voted against the measure, joining opposition members such as National Unity Chairman Benny Gantz and his faction member, Hili Troper. Noam Chairman MK Avi Maoz was not present for the vote.

The proposed law would allow judges to impose the death penalty by a simple majority instead of the unanimous ruling currently required, and would remove the right to appeal. It would not be applied retroactively, including to those responsible for the October 7 massacre, who are being addressed under separate legislation.

The legislation, submitted by the Otzma Yehudit party, creates a distinction between regions. In Yehudah and Shomron, the death penalty will be the “default” for murder offenses under terrorist circumstances. Unanimous consent of the judges will no longer be required, and there will be no possibility of pardon or commutation by the commander-in-chief.

Within the Green Line, the court can only impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on someone who intentionally causes the death of a person with the aim of harming the state. The Minister of Defense will have the authority to determine whether a terrorist from Yehudah and Shomron is tried in a military or civilian court.

According to the approved wording, executions will be carried out by hanging. The sentence will be executed by a guard appointed by the Commissioner of the Prison Service (IPS), whose identity will remain strictly confidential and who will be granted full criminal immunity.

Convicted terrorists will be placed in a separate, isolated detention facility. They will be barred from physical visits; meetings with lawyers will be restricted to visual contact only. The execution must be carried out within 90 days of the sentence following an automatic appeal process. The execution will be attended by the prison director, a judicial authority representative, an official inspector, and a representative from the terrorist’s family.

Since the establishment of the State, the legal system has refrained from utilizing capital punishment, which theoretically existed for treason and aiding the enemy. Only one person has been executed by a civilian verdict in Israel’s history: Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in June 1962.

The bill’s initiator, MK Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit), delivered an emotional address, noting she serves as an emissary for thousands of bereaved families.

“I carry with me the memory of my husband, Hashem yikom damo, the gaze of the terrorists who shot at us in cold blood, and the voice of my beloved children who grew up in a reality of immense emptiness,” Son Har-Melech stated. “For years, we have experienced a vicious cycle of terror, imprisonment, release in reckless deals, and the return of human monsters to murder Jews. And today, my friends, this cycle has been broken.”

National Security Committee Chairman MK Zvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit) framed the law as an essential wartime necessity. “The State of Israel is facing unparalleled evil and hatred,” Fogel said. “This law is not a law of revenge or rage, but of the responsibility of a state towards its citizens… We are not bloodthirsty and do not seek to kill, we are a people who sanctify life… This law is part of a set of changes and another layer on the path to winning the War of Rebirth.”

Opposition to the bill took various forms. MK Gilad Kariv (Labor) delivered a harsh rebuke from a secular-liberal perspective, condemning the move as an “immoral, un-Jewish and undemocratic” law.

Despite Otzma Yehudit’s framing of the bill as a tool strictly against Arab terroriss, officials told Kan news that the wording of the law could also apply to Jews.

Because the legislation defines the capital offense as terrorism aimed at “denying the existence of the state,” legal experts warn it could easily be weaponized by a hostile secular justice system against Jewish citizens