Israel’s Prisoner Release Rekindles Debate Over Death Penalty for Terrorists
Israel’s recent deal with Hamas—releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including convicted murderers—has sparked controversy and renewed calls for capital punishment for terrorists amid fears of further attacks
Israel has begun releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in recent weeks as part of a ceasefire deal with the Hamas terrorist organization. The scenes of jubilant prisoners receiving a hero’s welcome in Palestinian territories have been received with mixed feelings by Israelis. On the one hand, Israeli hostages being held by Hamas since October 7th, 2023, are being released in return, but on the other hand, some of the prisoners have been sentenced to life for murdering Israelis, many of them vowing to continue to operate against Israel.
The war and the deal between Hamas and Israel have rekindled a debate in the country about the death penalty for terrorists. Throughout the years, there have been several attempts to legislate a bill that would allow capital punishment for terrorist acts, including those committed in the West Bank, which Israel has control over since 1967 under a different legal system. Military law, which is applied to Palestinians in the West Bank, allows the death penalty for convicted murderers. It has never been used as prosecutors have never requested it.
The current law in Israel allows for the death penalty on a narrow range of crimes, namely treason, genocide, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the Jewish people during wartime. Those in favor of a wider use of capital punishment believe the persistence of terrorist attacks in recent decades can also partly be attributed to the avoidance of using the ultimate punishment.
The death penalty was used in Israel twice throughout its history – against a Jew who was accused of treason only to be posthumously exonerated and against Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962.
“Ideologically, the death penalty has not been handed out because there is no rehabilitation aspect to the punishment,” former Magistrate Court Judge Haran Feinstein told The Media Line.
Legal experts in the country are divided on whether a specific law mandating capital punishment for terrorist acts would be without petitions to the Supreme Court.
Public opinion in Israel is largely favorable towards the death penalty for convicted terrorists. Some see it as a deterrent against future attacks, especially those intended to kidnapping Israelis in order to free Palestinian prisoners. There is also frustration amongst Israelis that their taxes are paying for lengthy prison sentences for Palestinians, including funding university degrees and advanced health care.
Thousands of prisoners in Israeli jails now prove that the current deal proves that if there was capital punishment, we wouldn’t have to face such embarrassing and disgraceful deals in which murderers of Jews are released.
“When it will be clear to the murderers that they will be sentenced to death, they will think twice,” right-wing Israeli member of parliament Limor Sonn Har Melech told The Media Line. “Thousands of prisoners in Israeli jails now prove that the current deal proves that if there was capital punishment, we wouldn’t have to face such embarrassing and disgraceful deals in which murderers of Jews are released.”
Sonn Har Melech herself is a victim of a terrorist attack in 2003, during which her husband was murdered, and she was critically wounded.
My husband’s murderer was sentenced to seven life sentences, and during the trial, he said the sentence had no meaning to him, knowing he will be released.
“My husband’s murderer was sentenced to seven life sentences, and during the trial, he said the sentence had no meaning to him, knowing he will be released,” she added.
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Khaled Najar was later released as part of a deal in which Israel released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in return for Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who was taken into captivity by Hamas in 2011. Najar resumed his terrorist activities, killing more Israelis. Israeli soldiers killed him in Rafah during the latest war.
There is fear and aversion amongst Israel’s leadership from the legislation of a death penalty law. Attempts to legislate such a law at the beginning of the war, when it was very clear to everyone that this needs to be corrected, the relatives of the hostages raised objections and even those in favor of the law got cold feet.
“There is fear and aversion amongst Israel’s leadership from the legislation of a death penalty law,” said Sonn Har Melech. “Attempts to legislate such a law at the beginning of the war, when it was very clear to everyone that this needs to be corrected, the relatives of the hostages raised objections and even those in favor of the law got cold feet.”
Families of hostages voiced their concern that instating the death penalty in the midst of the war, while Israeli hostages are at the mercy of Hamas captors, would lead to their execution. Some begged parliament members to shoot down any proposals.
According to Judge Feinstein, also an adjunct lecturer at the Department of Criminology at Bar Ilan University, the current law allows for the death penalty but is not used not only for ideological reasons by which modern countries do not employ capital punishment, barring a few states in the United States.
When facing terrorists, there is concern that Israelis captured by them will be executed if Israel will employ the death penalty. Therefore, Israel shouldn’t use capital punishment because its enemies will abuse this.
“When facing terrorists, there is concern that Israelis captured by them will be executed if Israel will employ the death penalty,” Feinstein said. “Therefore, Israel shouldn’t use capital punishment because its enemies will abuse this.”
I feel the contrary is true; capital punishment could be used as leverage that they will not have prisoners to release in return for our hostages. This, of course, needs to be one part of the leverage against Hamas, added to limiting humanitarian aid to Gaza and intense fighting in order to create a new reality and deterrence against terrorists.
“I feel the contrary is true; capital punishment could be used as leverage that they will not have prisoners to release in return for our hostages,” Sonn Har Melech explained. “This, of course, needs to be one part of the leverage against Hamas, added to limiting humanitarian aid to Gaza and intense fighting in order to create a new reality and deterrence against terrorists.”
Even before the war, there were attempts to legislate capital punishment, including a bill currently stalled, waiting for a preliminary reading in the plenum of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
All our efforts at this point to complete the legislation have met closed doors. Not only do we not have deterrence without capital punishment, but we are also making murdering and massacring Jews lucrative. Our enemies need to know very clearly that prisoner release is off the table; this will change how the conflict is managed by Israel, making it more powerful with greater ability to face our enemies and subdue them.
“All our efforts at this point to complete the legislation have met closed doors,” Sonn Har Melech said. “Not only do we not have deterrence without capital punishment, but we are also making murdering and massacring Jews lucrative. Our enemies need to know very clearly that prisoner release is off the table; this will change how the conflict is managed by Israel, making it more powerful with greater ability to face our enemies and subdue them.”
As a former judge, Fainstein suggests sentencing convicted terrorists to death but not implementing it.
Convicts should be held in similar conditions to those on death row in the US, with very minimal conditions, complete isolation, and no option for parole. This could prevent future murders by deterrence.
“Convicts should be held in similar conditions to those on death row in the US, with very minimal conditions, complete isolation, and no option for parole,” he said. “This could prevent future murders by deterrence.”
The current deal between Israel and Hamas, which spans six weeks in which hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are slated to be released, has stirred controversy in the country. Memories of the Schalit deal are still fresh in the minds of many. One of the terrorists released as part of that deal was Yahya Sinwar, who then became the leader of Hamas and was the mastermind of the October 7th attack that stunned Israel and began the war.
I am happy for each hostage that is freed from captivity. But we need to echo the great danger in releasing murderers and the unspeakable travesty of their release to the loved ones of the victims. This is also true for our soldiers, who I do not think fought and lost their lives for such pictures. This voice needs to be heard.
“I am happy for each hostage that is freed from captivity,” said Sonn Har Melech. “But we need to echo the great danger in releasing murderers and the unspeakable travesty of their release to the loved ones of the victims. This is also true for our soldiers, who I do not think fought and lost their lives for such pictures. This voice needs to be heard.”
It is important to note that should the deal progress into its second stage next month; there is a possibility that terrorists who participated in the October 7th attack will also be released.
Throughout its history, Israel has carried out many prisoner swaps at high prices, making this one no exception, likely leaving capital punishment off the table, even as emotions run high.
