Israel’s parliament has approved legislation that would impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks, a move that has alarmed Palestinians and drawn condemnation from abroad. Rights groups say the bill fits neatly into what they have long described as Israel’s system of apartheid, which is, as ever, not exactly the kind of branding most governments would choose.
The law does not apply to Jewish citizens of Israel. Its backers on the far right celebrated the vote, while France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom all voiced concern over what they described as the bill’s plainly discriminatory character.
“We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill. The adoption of this bill would risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regards to democratic principles,” the four foreign ministries said in a joint statement on Sunday.
Amnesty International warned in February that the measure would become “another discriminatory tool in Israel’s system of apartheid.” On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said the law was discriminatory because it would be applied primarily, if not exclusively, against Palestinians.
“Israeli officials argue that the imposing the death penalty is about security, but in reality, it entrenches discrimination and a two-tiered system of justice, both hallmarks of apartheid,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“The death penalty is irreversible and cruel. Combined with its severe restrictions on appeals and its 90-day execution timeline, this bill aims to kill Palestinian detainees faster and with less scrutiny.”
The bill passed with its most enthusiastic supporter, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, seen holding a champagne bottle. Ben-Gvir has previous convictions for far-right “terrorism.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who attended the chamber to back the bill, was also seen congratulating lawmakers.
How the law separates Palestinians from Israelis
The main trick is where the law is applied. It is built around the military courts that only try Palestinians living under occupation.
Under the new legislation, anyone convicted of killing an Israeli citizen in the occupied West Bank would, by default, receive a death sentence from the military courts that run the territory. Those courts do not publish regular conviction figures, but in 2010 they acknowledged that 99.74 percent of Palestinians tried for offences committed in the occupied West Bank were found guilty.
Israeli settlers, by contrast, are tried in civilian courts in Israel. According to an analysis published by the UK’s Guardian in late March, Israel has not prosecuted any of its citizens for killing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of this decade. A separate Yesh Din study found that between 2005 and 2024, conviction rates for settlers prosecuted in civilian courts for crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, stood at about 3 percent. The group also said 93.8 percent of investigations into settler violence were closed without indictment.
The law gives Israeli civilian courts an extra measure of discretion when Israelis are convicted of killing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Judges there can choose between the death penalty and life imprisonment. Palestinian defendants in military courts do not get that flexibility. In their case, the death penalty is automatic, with life imprisonment available only in exceptional circumstances.
Much of this sits on top of Israel’s 2018 Nation State law, which critics say effectively codifies apartheid by defining Israel as the exclusive homeland of the Jewish people and elevating Jewish settlement as a national value. Critics also argue that it downgrades Palestinian citizens, who make up about 20 percent of the population, because it offers no guarantee of equality.
Is this legal?
According to many legal experts and rights groups, no.
Despite efforts by Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has administrative control over the occupied West Bank, to move toward annexation, the territory remains under military occupation and is not legally part of Israel’s sovereign territory.
Amichai Cohen, a senior fellow at the Center for Security and Democracy at the Israel Democracy Institute, said international law does not allow Israel’s parliament to legislate for the West Bank because the area is not legally Israeli territory.
In September 2024, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called for an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem within a year. That resolution backed an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which described the occupation as “unlawful.”
The Association of Civil Rights in Israel said it had already taken the case to Israel’s highest court just minutes after the bill passed. The group argued that the measure was “discriminatory by design” and that lawmakers had no legal authority to impose it on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, who are not Israeli citizens.
Is this the first time Israel has been accused of using law against Palestinians?
No. Not even close.
Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have long argued that Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank live under fundamentally unequal legal systems.
Palestinians are subject to military law, while settlers fall under Israeli civil law. That split creates two legal systems in the same territory, with different rights, different protections and different outcomes. Rights groups say this structure enables discriminatory detention practices, unequal safeguards and selective enforcement, all of which have fed longstanding accusations of apartheid.
As of March 2026, about 9,500 Palestinians were being held in Israeli prisons under harsh conditions. Roughly half were detained under administrative detention or classified as “unlawful combatants,” which means they are denied trial and cannot properly defend themselves.
Concerns have also grown over the treatment of Palestinian children in custody. Human Rights Watch says minors can be interrogated without a parent present and are often denied prompt access to legal counsel, in violation of both Israeli and international law.
Another major issue is the demolition of Palestinian homes built without permits. Those permits are described as nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain. Illegal settler outposts, on the other hand, are far less likely to face demolition and are increasingly legalized after the fact. In other words, the rules are strict when they are aimed at Palestinians and noticeably softer when they are not.
