Overview
- Lawmakers approved the government-backed bill 39–16 in its first reading, as two similar measures from Likud and Yisrael Beytenu also cleared initial votes.
- The bill mandates capital punishment for nationalistically motivated murders of Israelis, allows West Bank military courts to impose it by simple majority, and bars sentence commutations.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now supports the push championed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has cast it as a deterrent and pressed for swift passage.
- Coalition and opposition fault lines were stark: Degel HaTorah voted against on instruction from Rabbi Dov Landau, many Shas and Agudat Yisrael members were absent, most opposition parties boycotted, and Yisrael Beytenu voted in favor.
- The advance drew sharply split reactions, with bereaved families urging passage, senior rabbis warning of security and halachic pitfalls, critics citing due-process and international-law concerns, and Ben-Gvir celebrating in the plenum.