The Inside Story Podcast What is Israel's controversial death penalty law?
Apr 1, 2026
William Schabas, an international law professor who studies abolition of capital punishment; Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian political leader advocating rights; Ofer Kassif, an Israeli Knesset member opposing the coalition. They discuss Israel's new death-penalty law, global legal reactions, parliamentary celebrations, choice of hanging and medical refusals, risks for Palestinians in military courts and calls for sanctions.
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Death Penalty Extends Occupation Control
- The new death penalty law entrenches discriminatory jurisdiction by applying to occupied Palestinian territory despite the ICJ ruling the occupation unlawful.
- Francesca Albanese says Israel now claims the right to hang Palestinians and that the law deepens apartheid and strips due process.
Reintroducing Executions Is A Rare Reversal
- Israel was de facto abolitionist for 60 years with only two executions in its history, so reinstating executions is a dramatic legal reversal.
- William Schabas notes only a handful of countries have reverted from long moratoriums to active use of capital punishment.
Knesset Celebration Framed As Malicious Turning Point
- Ofer Kassif describes the Knesset vote with champagne and calls the law a peak of malicious behaviour by the 25th Knesset.
- He labels the legislation a 'genocide law' and promises to explain why it effectively enables genocide.
