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News & Current Events Mar 30, 2026 at 6:22 PM

Israel's proposed 'discriminatory' death penalty plans criticised by UK and allies

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Littlepharaoh Mar 30, 2026 +270
Isn't this supposed to be applied to everyone? If you're introducing the death penalty via military tribunal for terrorism charges will a Jewish person or a settler get the same treatment? If not, how is that not an apartheid?  Edit: -8 votes in 5 minutes, I am really genuinely asking 
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danziman123 Mar 30, 2026 +28
The law was originally written to include only Palestinians, but was ratified to be general and it actually includes Jewish terrorism. About if it actually will sentence both Palestinians and Israelis to death is less likely. You would need a competent investigation (less likely to succeed on Israelis) and definitive verdict, much harder in the political climate. The law was also originally written to force a death penalty of the accused, now it has either death penalty or a minimum of life in prison- which i believe is a good alternative.
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[deleted] Mar 30, 2026 +132
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NA_0_10_never_forget Mar 30, 2026 -73
That's not because they're Palestinians. It's because Palestinians want to erase the state of Israel. If they tried to not want to erase the state of Israel, then they would also not be affected by this. Also, in this case, they are using the LITERAL DEFINITION of terrorism, not the whatever buzzword people made of it, which is: "Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims." If Palestinians don´t want to fall under this terror law, then maybe don't be a terrorist? It's not because they're brown, or because they're Arab, or because they're muslim. If they get sentenced, it's because they're TERRORISTS, ok? The fact that it isn't expected to apply to others, is because others aren't committing terrorism in its literal sense. Personally, I think the death penalty is roomtemp IQ material, but at least be honest with what the actual law is.
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IOnlyFearOFGod Mar 30, 2026 +43
What to do when settlers in West bank keep harassing and killing Palestinians endlessly? and with the help of the IDF. Especially now that such activities are on the rise? Are the Palestinians just supposed to take the beating and lose their home? And if Palestinians retaliate they might be sentenced indefinitely or worse they might as well just get killed on the spot by IDF soldiers who are with the settlers. Please answer.
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meeni131 Mar 31, 2026 -27
It's not an excuse for vigilante violence or straight up murders, but in perspective: - 6 Palestinians were killed by settlers in all of 2022 - 10 Palestinians killed by settlers in all of 2023 - 10-12 Palestinians killed by settlers in all of 2024 For perspective, Chicago averaged 10 murders per week this year so far. Settler violence global coverage is way overblown.
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Wertherongdn Mar 31, 2026 +21
2025 saw a 25% increase of violence and 830 Palestinians were injured and we are not talking about destruction and displacement. Violence in Chicago is not intented to make a population flee their land. And I know some people don't see Palestinians as people, but starting any discussion with 'It's not an excuse for violence and murder BUT' is a big red flag in my book. But I don't know next time I will compare terrorist attack to number of killed people in bad suburbs in Kinshasa to explain it's not a big deal...
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meeni131 Mar 31, 2026 -9
It is increasing, but that is also an incomplete note on your part. This is not one way violence. Until very recently (2000-2024), Palestinian attacks were 500% more likely on average than settler ones and more violent, on average. So spare me the lecture when you omit information like that.
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Wertherongdn Mar 31, 2026 +10
Talking about 'incomplete note', you probably forgot the land stolen during this period, now 22% of the West Bank is controlled by Israel, the destruction of houses, the harassment on farmers... The fact that they are supported by the government and an army... But yeah, the violence is clearly balanced.
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meeni131 Mar 31, 2026 -9
Huh? All of the West Bank was controlled by Israel from 1967 to 1995. Land for peace again and got terrorism in return. Which part was "stolen"? Palestinians should decide they want peace and will get a bunch more territory they never had. But it's not "stolen".
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IOnlyFearOFGod Mar 31, 2026 +6
And whose sources do you receive such information? I would feel understanding and with ease if the perpetrators were brought to justice in Israeli courts but obviously, the israeli court will not give any justice. heavily favoring Israeli criminals and the jurors obviously feeling kinship for the criminals- why would they care about one or two Palestinians dying? This a problem. Tell me Meeni, why would palestinians trust the Israeli courts and IDF if they are enablers and even defend the criminals? There is no one to help, and no one to save. The PA is like plucked chicken, Meeni, it will cannot help or defend palestinians either. There is zero sincerity either as Israeli administration keeps approving new settlements in West bank and causing the west bank to shrink, shrink and shrink until there is no palestinian land.
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meeni131 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Information is straight from OCHA. Welcome to check their dashboard. Here's the latest conviction of a Jewish terrorist btw: 2 days ago. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/extremist-settler-found-guilty-of-terror-charges-in-killing-of-palestinian-mother/ Also for all that "approving of new settlements", the Palestinians have grown defacto control over 25% of Area C (security and civilian control by Israel) and Israeli settlements have grown from 4% to 8% of Area C over the past 30 years. It's clearly not the main issue. That said, why is it so hard for the PA to curb terrorism and stop paying terrorist families for every Jewish scalp? And if that's the case, what obligates Israel to keep handing over territory to them? Real peace will require both sides to make changes here - and the Israelis are the only ones that have shown they will give up anything (land) for that. But the Palestinians need to give up violence.
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IOnlyFearOFGod Mar 31, 2026 +4
Apparently, you only mention and use UN related sources only when it benefits your view and narrative. Otherwise, a lot of people who argue for Israel or is pro Israel, they not only dislike UN but despise it. The PA can't curb any terrorism if the Palestinians themselves don't trust it, what has the PA done for them other than being passive at all times? It just sits there and has barely responded to anything of sorts. Also what got me going about the settlers in West bank is this CNN article. Which shows the incompetence and the obvious bias of official IDF soldiers: "Twelve hours after Israeli settlers brutally attacked several Palestinians and established a new illegal outpost in their village, the Israeli military stepped in. But instead of detaining settlers or dismantling the illegal outpost, the soldiers targeted the Palestinian residents of Tayasir and a CNN team covering the incursion." Also yes, i know Israel suspended the battalion, but that just exposed their far right supremacist problem within the IDF. What if this is just one of many battalions having the same ideology? Israel having these far right soldiers given power is extremely dangerous and extremely unethical. If you wanna talk about terrorism talk about Israeli terrorism too, not only Palestinian.
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meeni131 Mar 31, 2026 +1
The UN is a large organization with a lot of branches. When people that support Israel argue against the UN, it's because so many of these branches are dishonest. I mean, even OCHA defines " settler violence" as violence by OR against settlers. But when it comes to the actual data, as in the numbers, or the satellite data, they can't. So it's this consistent weaponization of definitions that are then walked back by data that doesn't support it that is what we don't like the UN doing, but I do recognize that often they are a good source of data. That's why it looks like a dichotomy. And I did talk about jewish terrorists and provided a link to a conviction of a jewish terrorist in last message. It's factually a much smaller issue, but gets a lot more international attention, because Palestinian terrorism is just shrugged off. As are illegal Palestinian settlements and other acts like torching fields, "minor" molotov cocktails, stoning, etc I'm not saying the PA can't curb terrorism. I'm saying they don't want to. If they did, they would stop the "pay for slay" program, which has been active for 60ish years. As for the batallion, it's a unique one. Look it up (Netzach Yehuda). Agreed that they should be allowed nowhere near the west bank, very stupid.
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pornalt4altporn Mar 31, 2026 +10
You are missing the point of the comment you are replying to: a Baruch Goldstein style massacre of Muslims at prayer could happen without triggering this law as the target of the terror attack is not the existence of Israel. It would be like a law in Northern Ireland prescribing harsher penalties for attacks on the British state. Loyalist violence being typical directed at Catholic Nationalists doesn't fall afoul of it but nationalist violence, being in service of a rebellion against the state almost always would. Tit for tat terrorism but only one side getting executed.
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ThreeTreesForTheePls Mar 30, 2026 +35
It has been established that Palestinians do not receive equal attention, nor treatment, in Israeli courts of law. An IDF could walk up to a man in Gaza, detain him, bring to Israeli courts, and have him executed as being involved in a plan to commit a terror attack. There would be *nothing* to stop this from being achieved. Israeli Judges and Jurors have not shown up to equal standards for Palestinian defendants in the past, why would they do so now? Burden of proof burden of smfhoof. Beyond reasonable doubt beyond reasoning smhoubt. It is a targeted apartheid law, and nothing you have said in relation to this fact has done any dissuading.
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NA_0_10_never_forget Mar 30, 2026 -36
What you said is so politically charged that I'm absolutely not just going to take your word for it. To begin with, you throw apartheid around without a clue. Apartheid is a RACIAL law. That means if 2 people, are of the SAME CITIZENSHIP, and in the SAME COUNTRY, then different laws apply to them because of their RACE. The "Palestinians" you keep talking about are NOT ISRAELIS. It would be an apartheid law if ISRAELI Jews and ISRAELI Arabs (these are technically Palestinians but people pretend they don´t exist) and ISRAELI Christians were treated differently by this law. **For the record,** I still think this law is stupid af and I hope it gets killed, but not because of muh aPaRtHEid!!!
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hera-fawcett Mar 30, 2026 +23
the word apartheid comes from separateness. article 2 of icspca definition for apartheid: >which shall include similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination un's definition of racial discrimination: >the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. >That means if 2 people, are of the SAME CITIZENSHIP, and in the SAME COUNTRY, then different laws apply to them because of their RACE. this is not relevant in any form. israel has been found responsible for apartheid by the human rights watch. the international court of justice also wrote an advisory that stated that israel was in breach of article 3 of icerd (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) due to its racial segregation and discrimination.
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Material_Policy6327 Mar 30, 2026 +10
How will we know it’s applied fairly though?
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danziman123 Mar 31, 2026 -1
Honestly i think only in retrospect. And it will probably be amended by the supreme court, petitions were already submitted.
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Littlepharaoh Mar 30, 2026 +6
Oh my bad I googled an additional article and it said its exclusive to Palestinians 
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danziman123 Mar 31, 2026 -1
Where did you find this article? Is it a source with a bias? You can go and read the exact full law.
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Max_FI Mar 30, 2026 +11
Banned in 3... 2... 1...
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goddamnchooch Mar 31, 2026 +1
Here is the thing. The Israeli Supreme Court will most likely strike down this law on these exact grounds. The reason this law is passed now is to rile-up the base against the courts for the coming election
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Gentle_Snail Mar 30, 2026 +52
>Britain has joined European allies in condemning a draft Israeli law which would make the death penalty the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis. > >.. Opponents of the idea, under which executions should be carried out within 90 days of sentencing, say it is racist, draconian and unlikely to deter attacks by Palestinian militants. > >.. Under the proposal, the sentence will be applied by a military court to anyone convicted of murdering an Israeli "as an act of terror".
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Ultra_Metal Mar 30, 2026 -96
The fact that the law applies to anyone who murders Israelis means it's not racist at all. The fact that it's only used in cases of murder means it's not draconian, it's fair and just. Once again Israel is falsely being accused of doing things it never did.
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Gentle_Snail Mar 30, 2026 +70
It only applies to the West Bank / Gaza and only applies to the killing of Israelis. If a Israeli murders a non-Israeli they don’t get this. Crucially it also only applies to those tried in military courts. If a Palestinian kills someone in the West Bank they get a military court, if an Israeli kills someone in the West Bank they get a civilian court, so it will only ever apply to Palestinians. 
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Dark_World_Blues Mar 30, 2026 +5
Aha, I was thinking there was nothing wrong with killing a Palestinian that kills and Israeli. So, if a regular Israeli kills a Palestinian they might get away with it. That sounds like injustice to me. It should be forced on both sides.
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Ultra_Metal Mar 31, 2026 -18
Israel imprisons Israelis who kill Palestinians.
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jesonnier1 Apr 1, 2026 +4
But they don't automatically impose a death sentence w a 90 day clock. Read the information before you comment your uninformed bullshit.
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Ultra_Metal Mar 31, 2026 -23
I don't think you understand the difference between terrorism and regular murder. Regular murder is not the same thing as terrorism. Terrorism is just like a hate crime, it makes the crime worse and results in a worse punishment in any country.
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Keirtain Mar 31, 2026 -3
And in the case of Jews being killed in the Middle East, it’s rarely “like a hate crime.” It’s just a hate crime. 
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Efficient_Age_69420 Mar 30, 2026 +41
Do the Israeli Settlers face the same penalty?
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TheFrickinThrowAway Mar 30, 2026 -22
Right now the Supreme Court is still relatively unscathed so maybe? We’ll have to wait
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Ultra_Metal Mar 31, 2026 -9
Do you know what the word "anyone" means? By the way this law is new, so asking me if anyone has been punished makes no sense.
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Efficient_Age_69420 Mar 31, 2026 +17
Do you know how much you come across as a complete a******?
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Ultra_Metal Mar 31, 2026 -1
Do you know that insults make shitty arguments?
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jesonnier1 Apr 1, 2026 +1
So do you.
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Ultra_Metal Apr 1, 2026 +1
That doesn't even make sense.
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to_glory_we_steer Mar 30, 2026 +90
Can we just stop being allied with an objectively terrible regime already.
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ModsFromSteam Mar 30, 2026 -55
UK isn't an ally of Israel under any definition of it except maybe the gay one
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istoodonalego Mar 31, 2026 +3
Will this not have unintended knock on effects? Scenario: a Palestinian kills an Israeli in the West Bank, immediately afterward the act he realises what he's done, and that he's fucked because he's inevitably going to get caught, and then face this new punishment. Knowing he's going to get the death penalty, he might think it a good idea to commit further crimes, they're not exactly going to give him the death penalty twice...
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ShreddedCredits Mar 31, 2026 +14
Why the scare quotes around discriminatory? The legislation is pretty clearly worded to exclusively apply to Palestinians
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Gentle_Snail Mar 31, 2026 +6
When articles do this it means they are explicitly quoting someone else's language - as in they are saying this is specifically the term Britain and its allies used.
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No_Armadillo426 Mar 30, 2026 +21
What a rotten, mean country Israel is. It’s not wonder they’re allied with us.
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ruskyandrei Mar 30, 2026 +41
Ah yes, a law to allow "legal" executions. Israel really is just an awful country led by awful people.
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Odd-Seaworthiness826 Mar 30, 2026 -52
Lets say they can prove without a shadow of a doubt that this was a terrorist? Whats wrong with a death penalty for a murderer? Why should israel have to feed and house a murderer until some other terrorist kidnaps israelis and ransom's off their body in a lopsided exchange?
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DisastrousAcshin Mar 30, 2026 +70
So settlers will be executed for any killings they commit against Palestinians?
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[deleted] Mar 30, 2026 +52
[deleted]
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TheTrollerOfTrolls Mar 30, 2026 -50
Nice strawman. That's not the law.
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[deleted] Mar 30, 2026 +53
[deleted]
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TheTrollerOfTrolls Mar 30, 2026 -32
Civilian courts also can apply the sentencing to someone who committed murder in order to "negate the existence of the State of Israel." We are talking about murderers here. Just because a certain ethnicity does most of the murdering of Israeli citizens doesn't mean that the entire ethnicity is targeted by homicide laws. I don't even support the law, but I can still recognize that it's not tied to ethnicity.
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[deleted] Mar 30, 2026 +26
[deleted]
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GlassBit7081 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Isn't that the definition of Terrorism?
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xyzyxzyxzyxyzyxzxy Mar 31, 2026 -1
Bad.
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pepperouchau Mar 30, 2026 +9
We’ll only use it for the really bad ones, trust
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dkonigs Mar 31, 2026
The whole "kidnap and ransom for release" is the HUGE elephant in the room that seems to be almost completely left out of so many articles and discussion threads on all of this. Terrorist groups have basically convinced a lot of Israelis that having terrorists rotting in prison is a HUGE LIABILITY for the country. And in a way that it really isn't for any other country.
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QueenOfSplitEnds Mar 31, 2026 +9
…and they get free healthcare likely OUR tax dollars routed to them.
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Nowayisthatway Mar 31, 2026 -8
3 billion is in no shape or form enough to cover universal healthcare. And it is not even used for the healthcare system. Sfop spreading disinformation.
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811545b2-4ff7-4041 Mar 31, 2026 +6
Exactly. Universal healthcare estimate cost in the USA is closer to $3 trillion, than billion.
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Nowayisthatway Mar 31, 2026 -2
Even then. 3 billion is not enough to cover universal healthcare in Israel alone. And it is pretty much in the name it is "Militaty Aid" not "Economical Aid".
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811545b2-4ff7-4041 Mar 31, 2026 +6
Apparently it's around $37-40bn USD a year, or 7% of GDP.
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Nowayisthatway Mar 31, 2026 +2
And thats for 10 million people alone, now multiply it by 35 in proportion for the US population and add another big chunk to support the new infrastructures that are made to have a transformed health care system which is very different from the current one. This is a heck of a lot of money, but apperantly people now days want to have a 3 billion dollar healthcare system.
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811545b2-4ff7-4041 Mar 31, 2026
$3bn wouldn't keep the NHS in England running for a week lol (roughly $5bn .. and there's separate NHS organisations/costs for Northern Ireland/Wales and Scotland) The USA would need over $8bn **a day**
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Nowayisthatway Mar 31, 2026 +3
Thank you for being part of this conversation. There are valid concerns over this conflict but people are eating lies as if it is macdonalds.
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811545b2-4ff7-4041 Mar 31, 2026 +2
It's a stupid argument. You could give the US government $10 trillion dollars and ideological reasons would mean it wouldn't get universal healthcare, not money.
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[deleted] Mar 30, 2026 +1
[deleted]
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G_Danila Apr 1, 2026 +1
Don't worry guys, our judiciary is still compatent and Bagatz will strike this law down... pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease. Elections can not come soon enough.
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Ok-Drawer5245 Mar 30, 2026 -20
Israel once again proving there are no “guy guys” in the middle east
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FungusFly Mar 31, 2026
Ooh, criticism. That’s gotta burn. Maybe some condemnation to spice it up. That will move the needle.
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dumbnaturedude Mar 31, 2026 -4
Isn't the death penalty applied to anybody that commits murder? .... Just saying...
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Gentle_Snail Mar 31, 2026 +12
No, there hasn’t been an execution in Israel since 1962.  This law is being attacked because it makes the death penalty the default during military court hearings when someone has killed an Israeli. Israelis in the west bank get civilian courts when they commit crimes, while Palestinians are forced into military courts - this means the law will only be applied to them. They are not allowed visitors, communication with their lawyer is only allowed over video link, and they are executed within 90 days of the hearing. 
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dumbnaturedude Mar 31, 2026 -6
Nice! Bring back the death penalty!
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