IDF Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth on Monday signed an amendment to the West Bank’s security regulations, allowing the approved death penalty law for terrorists to go into effect.
The Knesset plenum passed the bill on March 30 with 62 lawmakers in favor, 48 against, and one abstaining.
Under the new law, military courts may impose a death sentence with a simple majority vote rather than requiring a unanimous decision.
The legislation also removes the authority to pardon or commute sentences issued by military courts. The law does not apply to Israeli citizens.
Prior to the amendment being signed, Defense Minister Israel Katz had instructed the IDF to begin implementing the law’s provisions across the defense system in the region.
Bluth’s signing marks the start of a significant policy change within the defense establishment since the October 7 massacre.
“The era of leniency is over,” Katz explained. “Terrorists who murder Jews will not sit in prison under comfortable conditions, will not wait for deals, and will not dream of release: they will pay the heaviest price.”
Ben-Gvir: Israel to not show restraint against terror
Katz applauded National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for leading and supporting the law.
“Today, with the Central Command chief signing the amendment, we are turning this new policy into reality,” Katz said. “Our message to every terrorist is clear: whoever raises a hand against a Jew, or harms IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians, Israel will pursue them, reach them, and bring them to justice to the fullest extent.”
“We promised, and we delivered,” Ben-Gvir said, adding that “after October 7, Israel is changing the equation. Against murderous terror, we do not back down or show restraint; we act decisively.”
“A terrorist who murders Jews must know that their end will not be in a release deal, but with the death penalty.”
What is the death penalty for terrorists bill?
Ben-Gvir has pushed for the legislation since the start of his tenure as national security minister, repeatedly stating that its passage was a condition of Otzma Yehudit’s coalition agreement with Netanyahu.
The updated outline of the bill proposes that executions for terrorists would be carried out by hanging, implemented by the Israel Prison Service.
The bill stipulates that a terrorist who intentionally kills a person as part of an act of terrorism will be sentenced to death.
From the outset, Ben-Gvir wanted an automatic death penalty for terrorism convictions, and that was the outline passed in the first reading.
The revised version stipulates that a judge would decide between capital punishment and life in prison.
Terrorists from the West Bank, however, would still get the automatic death penalty, barring specific appeals.
Keshet Neev and Media Line Staff contributed to this report.
