Avi Bluth Signs Order Activating Israel’s Death Penalty Law in West Bank

Israel’s death penalty regime for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank went into effect on Sunday after the commander of its Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, signed the military order required to activate the measure.

“Amnesty International today said that the Israeli authorities must immediately repeal the legislative amendments expanding the scope of the use of the death penalty in Israel, which was adopted today by a 62-member majority in the Knesset”

Amnesty International

Under the order, military courts presiding over prosecutions for attacks that resulted in Israeli deaths must apply the death penalty as “the only available sentence,” unless the court finds “special circumstances” allowing for life imprisonment instead.

Amnesty International

The Times of Israel said the legislation, passed by the Knesset at the end of March, was designed so that the death penalty is the default punishment for Palestinians convicted of carrying out lethal attacks against Israelis.

The law’s criteria include an intent “to negate the existence of the State of Israel or the authority of the military commander in the area,” a condition that multiple outlets said would likely target Palestinian resistance.

In an Anadolu Ajansı report, the measure was described as taking effect after Bluth signed the order necessary to enact it in the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir welcomed the move, with Ben Gvir saying, “We promised and we fulfilled,” and that “we do not capitulate or contain murderous terrorism, we defeat it.”

The Times of Israel quoted Katz and Ben Gvir describing the policy as a “clear and sharp change of policy after the October 7 [2023] massacre,” adding that a terrorist who murders Jews can no longer rely on prisoner exchange deals or the hope to be released.

Anadolu Ajansı

Amnesty International said the Israeli Knesset enacted a law that “heralds to be the first in a series of laws that ease the use of the death penalty,” calling it “flagrant discrimination, and absolute contempt for human rights.”

Amnesty International also warned that military courts “will practically be obliged to impose the death penalty on Palestinians” convicted of premeditated killings classified as terrorist acts, and said defendants would have only the right to appeal the conviction, not to seek an appeal of the death sentence.

Euronews reported that a joint statement by foreign ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Jordan, and Pakistan said the legislation “constitutes a dangerous escalation” and threatens regional stability.

WAFA said the signing of an amendment to a special military order for the occupied West Bank by Avi Bluth was followed by procedures to implement the death penalty law against Palestinians accused of carrying out killing operations.

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WAFA reported that Katz and Ben Gvir announced the start of implementation after the Knesset’s approval, explaining that the West Bank is not directly subject to Israeli civil law in such cases and instead operates through military orders and military courts.

The Times of Israel said several organizations and politicians petitioned the High Court of Justice against the law, and that the court ordered the state to respond by May 24.

Euronews said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the law as “clearly discriminatory” because it targets Palestinians almost exclusively, and warned it conflicts with Israel’s obligations under international law, especially the right to life.

Amnesty International warned that the law authorizes state-approved and state-sponsored executions and said any death sentences imposed on Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories “could amount to war crimes.”