Zulat for Equality and Human Rights, MK Gilad Kariv, and Rabbis for Human Rights filed an urgent petition with the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, against the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, 2026, seeking to repeal it and stop its immediate implementation. The petition filed by Adv. Dafna Holtz-Lachner asks the Court to issue an urgent injunction preventing the law from being enforced pending a ruling on the petition.
The petition argues that the law gravely infringes on fundamental rights, primarily the right to life, human dignity, equality, and the right to due process. It is one of the most extreme and dangerous laws ever enacted in Israel, as it seeks to establish a discriminatory, unequal, and unconstitutional death-penalty regime that distinguishes between different populations in a manner unprecedented in Israel’s legal system.
The death penalty is an irreversible punishment that strikes at the core of the right to life and at the foundations of a democratic state committed to human rights. Moreover, the law raises serious legal concerns because it is also intended to apply to the West Bank, even though the Knesset lacks the authority to impose such a legal arrangement in territory governed by international law. Accordingly, the petition seeks an urgent and exceptional interim injunction preventing the Commander of the IDF Central Command from amending the military order within 30 days of the law going into force.
The petition further argues that the law could seriously damage Israel’s international standing and expose it to legal consequences in the international arena. In addition, security officials and experts have questioned the deterrence rationale underlying it, raising serious concern that rather than contributing to security, the law could fuel violence, deepen tensions, and undermine Israel’s security interests.
Zulat maintains that the death penalty law is not merely an extreme punitive measure, but a profound assault on the foundational values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The law seeks to introduce into Israel’s legal system an irreversible, discriminatory, and dangerous mechanism that is incompatible with the principles of human rights, the rule of law, and due process. The petition calls on the Supreme Court to halt implementation of the law and order its repeal.
Further Reading:
For Zulat’s full position paper on the death penalty (Hebrew), click here
Zulat Executive Director Einat Ovadia at the Knesset National Security Committee (Hebrew): “Death is not a punishment, but rather murder carried out by the state as an act of revenge”
Calcalist (Hebrew): “Three petitions against three laws that put Israel on the path to becoming a halachic state”
Zulat President Zehava Galon in Haaretz (Hebrew): “The death penalty is terrorism in every sense of the word”
Documents:
25.5.2025, Update Notice on Behalf of the State (Hebrew), here
