They’re Already Dying.. Israel Just Wants It Legal
The Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies states that the death penalty law for prisoners, approved in its first reading by the Israeli Knesset’s Security Committee, is already being implemented in practice, though Israeli authorities are now seeking to formally legislate it.
The Center reports that Israel kills prisoners through multiple methods without needing formal legislation. In less than two years, 77 prisoners whose identities are known have died in custody. The Center documents that prisoners are being killed either through direct gunfire after arrest, lethal torture during interrogation at facilities like Sde Teiman, or through medical neglect, starvation, rape, and other methods.
Dozens of prisoners were arrested in good health or with minor injuries, only to be pronounced dead days or weeks later. Israeli authorities have not revealed the true causes of death, a practice the Center describes as deliberate execution inside prisons or during arrest.
Israel has also executed dozens, possibly hundreds, of Gaza prisoners after detaining them for hours, days, or weeks. Methods include lethal interrogation using internationally prohibited techniques including rape, or deliberate shooting while prisoners were bound hand and foot—confirming complete control over them without any threat posed. Their names and identities remain undisclosed as Israel continues the enforced disappearance of Gaza prisoners.
The Palestine Center argues that Israeli media coverage of the Knesset’s approval comes at this specific time to pressure Gaza resistance groups into making concessions. It also aims to deter Palestinians from carrying out operations in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and inside Israel, while appeasing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has personally championed this law for years.
This is not the Knesset’s first attempt at such legislation. In November 2018, it approved a death penalty law in a preliminary reading with 52 members in favor and 48 opposed. The law was one of Ben-Gvir’s key conditions for joining the government at the end of 2022. In March 2023, the Knesset again approved in a preliminary reading the death penalty bill that Ben-Gvir had submitted.
The Center emphasizes that Israel is actively killing prisoners. Since 1967, 314 prisoners have died in Israeli custody, with 77 deaths occurring since the beginning of the war on Gaza—a massive number for such a brief period. This indicates actual implementation of the death penalty while Israel seeks official cover from the Knesset to ensure impunity, even if only formally.
The Palestine Center states that the death penalty law is racist legislation targeting Palestinian prisoners exclusively. A special clause was added stipulating that “the act must be against the revival of the Jewish people on the land of Israel,” which would not apply to any Israeli detainee who might kill a Palestinian.
The Center has called on international human rights organizations for urgent intervention and the formation of investigative committees to expose execution crimes inside prisons committed during the past months and years. It urges pressure to stop the legislation of the death penalty law against prisoners, arguing it is illegal and lacks any legitimacy, aiming only to justify and legitimize systematic killing of Palestinian prisoners.
