Far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir boasted of the construction of a new gallows for hanging Palestinians facing the death sentence. The site, he said, will have a viewing area. Earlier this year, Ben Gvir led an effort to broaden Israel’s death penalty so it effectively applies to Palestinians convicted of terrorism, but not to Israelis. With elections two months away, Ben Gvir’s rhetoric seems unlikely to stop.
By Andrea Widburg Slowly but steadily, Israel is ensuring that the people who crossed its borders with murder on their minds face an appropriate consequence.
One of the bill's cosponsors said she hoped it would enable the world to "see how the victims and their families look into the whites of the eyes of those murderers, rapists and kidnappers."
The measure passed 93-0 in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, reflecting widespread support for punishing those found responsible for what was the deadliest attack in Israel's history.
The legislation makes death by hanging the default punishment for Palestinians on Gaza's West Bank who are convicted of nationalistic killings of Jewish Israelis.
