Israel announces ‘hanging facility’ for terrorists sentenced to death

“We promised it and we are keeping it. I promised worsen the conditions of terrorists in prisonsand we have fulfilled it. I promised to approve the death penalty law for terroristsand we have approved it. And now, also the death row and the gallows begin to take shape,” he says in a video in which the background appears blurred behind him, but in which a first structure of wood and iron can be seen under a blue tent.

The unit will have a “pavilion dedicated to those sentenced to death” and a “hanging device in the center of the pavilionwhere the sentences will be carried out”.

He also announced that they will include “observation cabins” that will allow victims to “witness the procedure, as is customary in many countries.”

“We are making history. Our terrorists They only deserve one thing: death by hanging,” sentenced the far-right politician, ex-convict for terrorism crimes. Days ago, the minister suggested in a podcast that Israel should kill “30 or 40” Palestinians every night in Gaza. Since his arrival to the Government in 2022, the number of weapons licenses for Israelis, one of the powers controlled by his ministry, has increased by 126%.

Even, Just a week ago, Justice stopped a project to build a pit with crocodiles around a prison in Ketziot, in the south of the country, considering that this initiative could affect the well-being of the animals, following a request from a protectionist association.

At the end of March, the Israeli Parliament, Knesset, approved by 62 votes in favor and 48 against, a law that allows the application of death penalty to those convicted of fatal attacks classified as acts of “terrorism”a measure that in practice would mainly affect Palestinians.

The law was promoted by the Gvir and had the endorsement of the primary ministro Benjamin Netanyahu – who has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes – voted in favor of the text.

The law stipulates that any person “who intentionally causes the death of another with the aim of causing harm to an Israeli citizen or resident, with the intention of ending the existence of the State of Israel, may be sentenced to death oa life sentence“In the case of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the death penalty would become the default punishment applied to those convicted of deadly attacks that are classified as “acts of terrorism” by an Israeli military court.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and Palestinians living in this territory are tried by Israeli military courts while Israeli settlers are prosecuted by the judicial system. According to the Palestinian Authority, the law is an attempt to “legitimize extrajudicial executions.”

The law stipulates that the method of execution is hanging. and that the punishment be applied within 90 days after the sentence, with a possible postponement of 180 days. It also contemplates that sentences can be reduced to life imprisonment if there are “special circumstances.”

The approval of the law generated several criticisms internationally, except from the United States. The Trump administration “respects Israel’s sovereign right” to determine its own laws and penalties for people convicted of terrorism (…) We trust that such measures will be carried out with a fair trial and respecting all applicable procedural guarantees and protections,” declared a State Department spokesperson at the time.

On the other side, The Palestinian government called the law a “war crime” and a violation of international humanitarian law. He also urged the Arab League – made up of 22 countries, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, Qatar and Iraq – to apply sanctions against Israel. In a statement, the League condemned the legislation as “extremist” and “racist”, and considered that it “enshrines scandalous discrimination against Palestinians” and “constitutes a shameful manifestation of apartheid.”

He UN High Commissioner for Human RightsVolker Türk, stated that the law – which would mostly affect Palestinians – was “discriminatory”, that it “would constitute a particularly serious additional violation of international law”, and that its application would constitute a “war crime”. While the European Union She was “very concerned” and stated that this was a “serious setback in Israel’s human rights obligations.”

For its part, From Pierbattista Pizzabathe Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, stated that the law greatly changed “the idea of ​​the State that exists in Israel at this time.”