Alwaght- The Israeli cabinet that is largely dominated by hardline ministers has shown that it is vigorously following the agenda of destroying the Palestinians and it is using all the means at its disposal towards this aim.
As the military forces of the Israeli regime continue their genocidal campaign in Gaza and conduct massive arrests in the West Bank, hardline parties in the Knesset are passing crackdown bills against the Palestinians, signaling they are not seeking peaceful coexistence with the Palestinian in defiance of the world community demands.
In this regard, the Israeli parliament on Monday passed the first stage of a draft-law that authorizes execution of the Palestinian prisoners. Under the provisions of this law, any person who intentionally or through negligence causes the death of an Israeli citizen, and the act is motivated by racism, hatred, or with the aim of harming Israel, must face the death penalty. The law also states that the death sentence, once finalized, cannot be reduced.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is considered a primary enemy of the Palestinians, had called on all parties of the ruling coalition and the parties on the opposition front to vote for this bill uniformly, describing it as a "historic step."
Interestingly, after its initial approval, Ben-Gvir became intensely excited and proceeded to distribute sweets in parliament. Ben-Gvir had previously threatened that if this bill was not brought to the public floor for a vote within three weeks, his party would no longer feel obliged to support the ruling coalition.
A sign of anger after defeat in Gaza
In the first place, it should be taken into account that the law of execution of Palestinians put forward by the radical parties should not be seen disconnected from the Gaza war.
Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has failed to achieve its stated goals of destroying Hamas and fully occupying the coastal enclave, despite two years of heavy bombing and the devastation of Gaza. The passage of such laws is therefore an attempt to manage the atmosphere of disillusionment that has gripped the Israeli society following the Gaza war, and to restore the lost trust of the residents of occupied territories in the regime's security and military power.
At the start of the war, Netanyahu's cabinet tried to convince Zionist settlers that the regime could stand tall after the deadly blow of October 7, and that its frenzied attacks on Gaza and then across the region would crush the resistance groups and turn the tide in the regime's favor. However, while the savage slaughter of Palestinians early in the war satisfied the Israelis' thirst for revenge, the passage of time and close observation of the battlefield developments revealed the futility of the military operation. The inability to return the captives or destroy Hamas made the emptiness of this mirage clear to all.
Today, many settlers have little trust left in Netanyahu and his allies. The wave of widespread public protests and the trend of reverse migration over the past two years have shown that the promises of the extremists have not been fulfilled. The threats have not only persisted but, with the opening of new fronts, the scope of the war has expanded. Consequently, by passing these escalatory laws, the extremist parties are trying to restore the Israelis' lost confidence and pretend that the story is not over and that after this, Palestinians will no longer be capable of threatening the settlers.
Israeli prisons the breeding ground of resistance
One of the main drivers for adoption of the execution law was the Israeli concern about anti-Israeli sympathy and bonds of the Palestinian inmates.
Experience has shown that prisoners having served a long time behind the bars not only do not lose their resolve, but aslo develop a spirit for an anti-occupation resistant spirit, and once freed, they pose serious threats to the Israeli regime. A clear example was Yahya Sinwar who after long years of captivity managed to arrange the biggest anti-Israeli campaign, dealing a fatal blow to Tel Aviv, under Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, a decade after his freedom.
Contrary to Israeli expectations, Palestinian prisoners do not emerge from jails weakened. Instead, they leverage their time by learning Hebrew, identifying the enemy's vulnerabilities, and building resilience through methods like hunger strikes. Upon release, they capitalize on these gains. The success of the October 7 operation was in large part a result of this very awareness and experience, gained by former prisoners like Yahya Sinwar.
Tel Aviv officials have long been deeply concerned about the resistance's influence in the West Bank. The shifting security situation there, the deployment of the army, and the extensive military raids on the city of Jenin and its refugee camp over the past two years are clear indicators of this anxiety. Ironically, however, the mass arrests in the West Bank have themselves become a catalyst for the growth of resistance ideologies among Palestinian fighters. In prisons, detainees from the West Bank connect with seasoned resistance fighters and leaders, a dynamic that has significantly bolstered the militant spirit among the youth. The rapid rise of new resistance groups in recent years is a direct outcome of this process.
This is precisely why Tel Aviv so vehemently opposes the release of figures like Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader, out of a fear that he could become a unifying commander in the mold of Sinwar. From the perspective of Israeli officials, the new death penalty law serves as a tool to break the morale of prisoners and prevent a repeat of the successful October 7 operation.
Intimidating the Palestinians
Israelis are pushing for the death penalty law in a bid to instill fear among Palestinians, sending a clear warning that anyone seen as a potential threat to settlers or the security of the occupied territories will face the harshest punishment.
At the same time, a recent surge in espionage activity within the occupied territories has deeply alarmed Tel Aviv’s leadership. Some of those suspected of spying are Arabs from the 1948 territories, now numbering around two million and comprising roughly 25 percent of the population under Israeli control. In recent years, this community has grown increasingly disillusioned with the ongoing massacres in Gaza and Israel’s military adventurism in the West Bank, raising fears in Tel Aviv that an internal uprising could eventually erupt.
Against this backdrop, hardliners such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and his allies are seeking to push the death penalty law as a means to suppress the growing tide of dissent and resistance networks forming within. The move is widely seen as an attempt to reinforce control through intimidation and maintain dominance over both Palestinians and Arab citizens living inside the occupied territories.
Countering international pressures
Given the large-scale international reactions to the genocide in Gaza and decisions by some Western countries to recognize an independent Palestinian state, the radicals of the Israeli cabinet through restrictive laws want to send a clear message to the world, asserting that they will not allow a Palestinian state to see the light.
In recent months, these parties have demonstrated through passing legislation such as banning the establishment of a Palestinian state, expanding and building settlements in the West Bank, and the bill to annex the West Bank to the occupied territories, that international rulings and global pressure have no effect on their hostile policies.
So, the execution bill is actually a sequel to those moves, serving an aim to neutralize the international efforts for legitimizing the Palestinian state and to maintain dominance over the occupied Palestinian territories. These laws also send a clear signal to the Palestinians and the world community that Tel Aviv is seeking to cement its authority and will make no concessions to the Palestinians in their push for self-determination.
