Jerusalem, Feb. 12 -- Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has advanced a draft law that would impose mandatory death sentences on Palestinians convicted of certain attacks, while allowing Israeli citizens found guilty of similar offences to receive life imprisonment.

The bill passed its first reading on November 10, 2025, by 39 votes to 16 in the 120-member chamber. It was introduced by the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and has the backing of members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.

What the bill proposes

According to Israeli daily Haaretz, one clause would allow a military commander to determine that a West Bank resident who intentionally caused the death of a person in ...