Overview
- The bill passed its first reading 39–16 and was authored by Limor Son Har-Melech with backing from Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and the governing coalition.
- It would mandate capital punishment for those who kill Israelis for racist or state-damaging motives, a scope critics say effectively excludes comparable crimes by Jewish extremists.
- The proposal curtails judicial discretion by making death sentences compulsory in defined cases and by lowering the threshold in West Bank military courts to a simple majority.
- Regional military commanders would no longer be able to commute such sentences, and the draft returns to committee before the required second and third plenary votes.
- Rights groups and some security officials warn of moral, security and diplomatic costs, while Ben-Gvir’s post-vote distribution of baklava in the chamber drew sharp criticism.