The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation B’Tselem, strongly condemn new legislative amendments adopted by the Israeli Knesset on 30 March 2026, which vastly expand the application of the death penalty, and explicitly discriminate against Palestinians in Israel’s civil penal code and military law. The international community, in particular EU countries still maintaining deep economic and diplomatic ties with Israel, must respond to this development in the strongest terms.
Paris, Jerusalem, 31 March 2026. On Monday, 30 March 2026, the Israeli Knesset passed new legislative amendments that specifically target Palestinians with the death penalty, by establishing a two-track system under which capital punishment will now be the default sentence for offenses of intentional killing under Israeli’s counter-terrorism law tried in military courts in the West Bank. In Israel and in occupied East Jerusalem, civilian courts will now be authorized to pass death sentences in cases of convictions under offenses of intentional killing with the “aim of negating the existence of the state of Israel.”
“Israel is reaching a new low in the dehumanization of Palestinians, enshrining their cruel treatment in state law. It already kills Palestinians systematically and faces no demands for accountability. Under the leadership of top ministers, the Israeli system is day by day becoming a system that normalizes the killing and injury of human beings”, said Yuli Novak, B’Tselem Executive Director.
“The international community cannot turn a blind eye to this and must not let these developments go without consequence. Israel’s non-compliance of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement only increases with these latest developments, and can only be met by a suspension of the agreement”, said Alexis Deswaef, FIDH President. “It is also high time to seriously reconsider Israel’s participation in international sporting and cultural federations and competitions”, he added.
For Palestinians in the West Bank, the new law establishes the death sentence as the default in cases of intentional killing where the act is an act of terrorism as defined in Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Law, barring “special circumstances” that enable the imposition of a life sentence. The sentence must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing, and can only be postponed by the Prime Minister. Unanimity among the military judges is not required and the law does not provide a possibility of appeal or pardon. It applies to military courts, which have a conviction rate of approximately 96% and often arrive to guilty verdicts based on forced confessions extracted under torture. These legal amendments worsen a judicial system that is already inherently discriminatory and contributes to widespread violations of human rights against Palestinians.
Israel was considered abolitionist for all ordinary crimes and only executed two persons through its history, with the last execution taking place in 1962. This development marks a serious regression as well as an escalation of human rights violations by Israel. FIDH and its member organisations call on the international community to use all diplomatic avenues to push for a repeal of these amendments and ensure that Israel moves towards full abolition of the death penalty.
FIDH, a member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) and of its Steering Committee, reiterates its strong opposition to the death penalty for all crimes and in all circumstances.