Israel votes for death penalty for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks

[CanAnybodyFindMe]

“Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wore a noose pin on his lapel to signal his support for the bill”

I first heard about this on Facebook and thought it might be anti-Israel fake news. But no, it’s true.

Absolutely horrifying and sickening.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8dkd6lnjdo

But Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.

Does having the death penalty make a country non democratic? When did that happen? Were western countries not democracies before they removed the death penalty? And what of those countries that still have it? The USA comes to mind, but also Japan (latest execution was in 2022, so not generations ago). Is Japan not a democracy?

Moreover, many countries including the UK abolished the death penalty despite there being majority support for it - support for not having a death penalty became the norm only years after its abolition. So in terms of democracy, it was its abolition which was somewhat anti democratic.

And nobody has explained how the proposed Israeli law is "apartheid" when it would presumably apply to any Jew who committed a crime that was an attack on the state of Israel - like the one I linked to by a Jewish conscript called Raz Cohen.

It just seems like some people are spouting talking points without thinking them through.

What do you mean suddenly outraged by the death penalty?

Were we not all outraged when Iran executed the 19yo wrestler last week? Or when the US executed a prisoner by firing squad last year? Or Singapore’s recent execution of a Malaysian national for drug trafficking? Or Iraq’s hanging by the dozen of captured ISIS members a few years ago? Or the regular, ongoing, executions of Afghan women by the Taliban accused of adultery, as a kind of pregame event, in stadiums?

Or the people executed in Burundi by being burned alive for being witches?

There has been plenty of outrage over the death penalty.

No there hasn't been all that much outrage at all considering - the coverage was mostly people asking why so few famous sports journalists and athletes had anything to say about his execution. There's been no campaign to have Iran banned from international sports comparable to the fuss about Israel, despite Iran also having kidnapped the families of those women footballers in Australia to force them to withdraw their requests for asylum - where are those women now? Probably either dead or in prison awaiting execution.

And as for last week: Saleh Mohammadi was hanged in mid March. But never mind, there have been many others since - three the same time as him, and an 18 year old musician Amirhossein Hatami only two days ago - again, very little talk about that. Maybe you'd missed that?

Oh as well as Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Swedish-Iranian national, and others as well that we've barely heard of.

But people who shrug their shoulders at all those executions, and even cheer the downing of an American plane by Iran because they want Iran to beat the US, are outraged at a bill that hasn't yet been used even once.

And I see you mention Afghanistan: how much protest was there when Ireland played Afghanistan at cricket last year? Seems most people don't care that much about Afghan women. Cricket is more important clearly.

.Statista primarily derives its statistics regarding deaths in Gaza from the
Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH), often reported via the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Gaza Government Media Office (GMO).
Statista +2
Based on data published through February 2026, Statista compiles these figures, which include cumulative totals of fatalities and injuries in the Gaza Strip, and sometimes provides breakdowns by age and gender.
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Key Data Sources and Methodology:

• Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH):This is the primary source, which gathers data through its hospital and morgue system.
• UNOCHA: Statista frequently relies on UNOCHA reports, which collect data from Gaza MoH field staff and verify it.
• Gaza Government Media Office (GMO): Reports from the GMO's Telegram channel are sometimes used to complement MoH data, specifically for tracking daily casualties.
• Methodological Notes: The MoH compiles data from central morgues and hospitals, but also uses online forms for family reporting, which underwent a "cleaning" or verification process in late 2024 to remove duplicate or incomplete reports.
• www.ochaopt.org +3

Contextual Factors:

• Separation of Data: Statista states that these figures do not distinguish between civilians and members of armed groups.
• Verification Challenges: The UN has noted that providing day-to-day verification in real-time is nearly impossible, but they have historically deemed the Gaza MoH figures to be credible.
• Underestimation Concerns: Many humanitarian organizations, along with some analyses published in The Lancet, believe that the MoH figures might actually be an undercount, with many bodies remaining trapped under rubble.
• Statista +1

Note: Statista explicitly states that in war zones, data collection is difficult, and reports are based on the available data from parties involved. Statista

Now if you have an alternative way of collecting data in a war zone then well done you
Of course we could have had a better appreciation had there been journalists around to report

Oh wait !!!

RTT
there's been clear discussion and very good explanations on your apartheid question

Or check out the news even it’s everywhere

All I've seen is a denial that Jewish people would commit this particular crime, which, given that I've posted an instance of that very thing happening, means that it hasn't been answered.

If someone has explained how Raz Cohen would get an exemption because of being Jewish, maybe you can point me to that?

I suppose it depends on the people you associate with the amount of outrage you perceive. I’ve not seen any special outrage levied at Israel.

Can you not get world news

google the actual question

I did a quick Google and the outrage explaining the apartheid nature of the proposed death penalty in Israel is there
Is your news restricted somehow ?

@Emilesgran ’And nobody has explained how the proposed Israeli law is "apartheid" when it would presumably apply to any Jew who committed a crime that was an attack on the state of Israel -‘

Suggest you read the wording of the law which explicitly states there are 2 separate legal frameworks, rather than repeatedly asking posters here to explain - tried but was ignored so here it is one more time.

1
Military courts in the occupied West Bank will be authorised to impose the death penalty against Palestinians convicted of deliberate killings in actions that are defined as terrorist acts under Israel’s discriminatory counter-terrorism law. Only under special circumstances that the bill fails to specify will courts be allowed to order a life sentence – and life sentence only – instead. The Defence Minister is authorised to determine whether defendants from the West Bank will be tried before military or civilian courts. Those sentenced to death are not entitled to pardon, making this one of the world’s most extreme death penalty laws.

2
Under the second framework applicable in Israel and illegally annexed East Jerusalem, civilian courts’ authority to issue the death sentence would be expanded to include any person convicted of intentionally killing another with the “aim of negating the existence of the state of Israel. Such an ideological requirement for intent practically means the law is designed to target Palestinians.
In addition to the death penalty amendment, the Constitution, Law and Justice committee at the Knesset advanced on 24 March for a second and third readings the Tribunals’ Law (“Prosecution of Participants in October 7 Massacre events”) bill, which mandates the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal, effectively acting as a military court, to try individuals charged with participating in the 7 October attacks. The bill authorises the tribunal to impose the death penalty on those convicted and allows it to significantly deviate from standard procedural rules and evidentiary laws if it is “deemed necessary for the clarification of the truth and performance of justice.

So you missed FIFA announcing a special council meeting in 2024 to consider suspending the Israel Football Association from international competitions? Or the various Arab sports associations calling for Israel to be banned from the 2024 Summer Olympics, even though Belarus and Russia were allowed to be there? And 200 Irish athletes also demanded that Israel be excluded. Not to mention Ireland boycotting the Eurovision because Israel was allowed to take part.

Or to name a few artists, there's Donal Lunny, Elvis Costello or Massive Attack who've all expressed their fury at Israel.
Plus the current President, and the former one. Don't forget that Michael D sent a letter of congratulations to Iranian president Peshezkian on his election (and then accused Israel of having made the letter public when in fact it was Iran!) Not a word in that letter about the regime murdering people - he didn't seem to mind too much.

So maybe it's just your general lack of information, if you really haven't come across any of this.

The interpretation of what the law "means" is the problem:
the “aim of negating the existence of the state of Israel. Such an ideological requirement for intent practically means the law is designed to target Palestinians.

It's not true that it targets Palestinians if Israelis who commit the same crime (and some, albeit very few) have done. Raz Cohen for example.

It doesn't matter how often you repost more people making the same claim, unless you can explain why Raz Cohen (or someone similar) would NOT be subject to the law - because nothing that's posted there disproves it.

And I'm asking on here because I'm posting on here. If you can't find evidence as opposed to yet more opinion, that Cohen would not be eligible for the same punishment, then that just means that those opinions are all picking up the same mistake (many of them possibly deliberately) and have not examined the question fully.

Well it’s not strange is it.
Perfectly reasonable question.

And the answer?

"Never mind Israel imposing the death penalty, Iran does too"

Literally nobody has said that though.

Is it equally strange to you when someone points out that, say, a white girl getting murdered in the US will get more media coverage than a young black man. Because there are whole research projects about that phenomenon, so it seems like some people think it needs explaining:

When Does Murder Make The News? It Depends On The Victim’s Race.

Nobody said that? Maybe not those exact words, the 'but' added implies it.

As for your question, what has that got to do with this thread?

No it doesn't imply that they support the law though - it implies that there's a double standard going on, which there is.

And dismissing that as "whataboutery" is disingenuous. Hence my example.

It's ok if you don't understand the point though.

what happened to dont do the crime ?

Agree with double standards. I am against the death penalty so will condemn any country using it.

How nice of you to be ok with not understanding the point you are trying to make.

Well that’s not the question.
The question is about the hypocrisy of holding one country to account above others doing the same thing.

Funny you should say that, was only thinking that the other day.

I think it is you that does not understand it, or prefers to pretend not to understand.

Ah ok Thanks for your thoughts

The picture I intended to post didn't appear - not sure why. I posted it subsequently.

Well said.