Israel finalizes execution plans for Palestinian abductees after Knesset vote: Report

Israeli prison authorities have finalized plans to carry out executions of Palestinian abductees following the first-reading approval of a controversial death penalty law, a report says.

The plans, revealed by the Israeli regime’s Channel 13 and reflected across various news outlets on Sunday, include establishing a dedicated execution facility, forming specialized execution teams, and enforcing strict isolation measures for those sentenced to death.

Under the plans, executions would be carried out by hanging. Three prison guards would press execution buttons simultaneously, while abductees slated for execution would be kept fully isolated from other inmates.

Specially trained volunteers would be recruited for the execution teams, with preparations conducted in advance. The regime also plans to implement executions within 90 days of a final judgment.

The law prioritizes what Israeli authorities call “elite prisoners,” a term applied to hundreds of abductees taken from Gaza, followed by Palestinian abductees abducted later in the occupied West Bank for alleged “serious operations.”

Channel 13 also reported that a delegation from the Israeli prison service is expected to travel to an East Asian country that practices similar execution methods.

Palestinian reactions

Palestinian factions have strongly condemned the approval of the law and the reported execution plans.

Gaza’s Hamas resistance movement described the legislation as an extension of “Israel’s racist and criminal policies,” saying it legalizes organized mass killings. The movement called on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights organizations to condemn the measure, impose sanctions, and form investigation committees to monitor conditions in Israeli prisons, where systematic torture has already caused dozens of deaths.

Islamic Jihad, another resistance group from Gaza, labeled the law “a dangerous escalation in the ongoing extermination and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people,” noting that the regime’s dual legal system punishes Palestinians, while granting immunity to illegal settlers and forces in violation of international norms.

The developments came days after a group of United Nations human rights experts condemned the Israeli bill allowing the death penalty for Palestinians and urged its immediate withdrawal.

In a statement issued on February 4, a dozen independent UN experts said the bill would violate the right to life and discriminate against Palestinians.

“Mandatory death sentences are contrary to the right to life,” the statement said, adding “By removing judicial and prosecutorial discretion, they prevent a court from considering the individual circumstances, including mitigating factors, and from imposing a proportionate sentence that fits the crime."

The bill, pushed by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir, passed its first reading at Knesset (the Israeli parliament) last November and must still pass second and third readings to become law.

According to the UN experts, the bill would introduce two tracks for imposing the death penalty in occupied territories.

In the West Bank, apart from East al-Quds, military courts operating under military law could impose the death penalty for what are defined as “terrorist” acts causing the death of a person, even if the killing was not intended.

In other parts of the occupied territories and in East al-Quds, the death penalty would continue to apply under Israeli criminal law, but only for the “intentional killing of Israeli citizens or residents.”

The experts warned that under both tracks, “vague and overbroad definitions of terrorist offenses under Israeli law would apply,” adding that such definitions could include conduct that is not genuinely “terrorist” and that the death penalty would be mandatory.

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