Israel to vote on controversial death penalty law

Today, the Knesset will vote on a law that would significantly lower the threshold needed for capital punishment and force courts to sentence terrorists to either death or life imprisonment. Legislators are also considering a bill that would impose the death penalty on those convicted for crimes on Oct. 7, 2023. Currently, Israeli law allows the death penalty only for someone convicted of war crimes, and only two prisoners since its 1948 founding have received this sentence, the last instance occurring in 1962. The legislation has intensified Palestinian animosity against Israel, animosity that will ultimately explode into a violent uprising larger than October 7.