Champagne and chaos - Ben-Gvir brandishes bottle as Knesset erupts after passing death penalty law targeting Palestinian prisoners

"The Knesset erupted in chaos on Monday after lawmakers passed a law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly 'terrorist' attacks in a 12-hour session marked by immediate backlash and a celebratory display by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Footage shows parliament passing the law during a chaotic session attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with lawmakers shouting 'criminal' and 'shame to the country' at him. "The Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, 5786–2026, has been approved in the second and third readings and will enter the law books of the State of Israel," announced Limor Son Har-Melech, Knesset member for Otzma Yehudit. After the vote, some MPs were escorted out amid further protests, while Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrated by brandishing a bottle of champagne - which was later taken away by security. Passing by a 62-48 margin with one abstention, the new legislation establishes the death penalty by hanging as the default sentence for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of deadly 'acts of terrorism.' "Today we are restoring sanity to the State of Israel," Ben-Gvir said. "A law of death penalty for terrorists, which my colleagues and I from Otzma Yehudit led, is a historic law that changes the current reality." While the law allows military courts to opt for life imprisonment under special circumstances, it strictly removes the possibility of clemency and mandates that executions be carried out within 90 days of sentencing. The vote drew criticism from rights groups and international observers, with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and Britain warning that the bill has a 'de facto discriminatory' character toward Palestinians and risks undermining Israel's democratic principles. Following the vote, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel announced that it had petitioned the Supreme Court to freeze implementation of the law. Israel had abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954. Since then, the only execution carried out following a civilian trial was that of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962."

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