In a dramatic and highly debated move, Israel’s parliament has approved new legislation introducing the death penalty as a default punishment for certain terror-related murder convictions.

The bill passed the Knesset with a vote of 62 in favor, 48 opposed, and one abstention. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among those who voted in support of the measure, underscoring the government’s backing of the legislation.

The new law applies to individuals convicted in military courts of carrying out deadly attacks intended to undermine or destroy the State of Israel. It establishes execution by hanging as the standard sentence, requiring it to be carried out within 90 days of conviction. While judges are given limited discretion to impose life imprisonment instead, that option is reserved for undefined “special circumstances,” and the law does not provide a path for clemency.

The legislation was spearheaded by the Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who framed the vote as both a moral and strategic milestone.

“This is a day of justice for ⁠the murdered, a day of deterrence for enemies,” Ben-Gvir said in parliament. “Whoever chooses terror chooses death.”

Following the vote, Ben-Gvir was seen outside the Knesset celebrating the passage of the law, describing it as a historic moment. He declared: “With the help of G-d, soon, one by one will get the death penalty, all those who killed, rap*d, and burned.” He concluded his remarks with a toast: “L’Chaim to Israel.”

Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech, who co-sponsored the bill, reacted emotionally to its passage and publicly thanked Netanyahu for prioritizing the vote despite the ongoing war. Her support for the legislation is deeply personal. Twenty-three years ago, her husband, Shalom Har-Melech, 25, was murdered by Islamic terrorists while driving with her along the Alon Highway in the Jordan Valley. Limor, who was pregnant at the time, was seriously wounded in the attack after being shot in the face and lower torso, doctors delivered her baby by Caesarean section several hours after her husband was killed.

They were heading off for a holiday weekend and were confronted by a group of armed terrorists.

“We were on the road and, from nowhere, we saw about five or six of them standing by the road,” Limor Harmelech told Israel Radio at the time. Police had said that the terrorists had shot about 25 bullets at their car.

Supporters of the law argue it will serve as a powerful deterrent against future terrorist attacks while delivering justice to victims and their families. Critics, however, caution that judicial discretion may limit its application in practice and raise broader concerns about reinstating capital punishment in Israel’s legal system.

Israel eliminated the death penalty for murder in 1954, and it has been used only once since then in a civilian court, when Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was executed in 1962.

The passage of the law marks a significant and controversial shift in Israel’s approach to terrorism and criminal justice.