Israel builds execution chamber for Palestinians convicted of murder

In March, the Knesset approved legislation that calls for the execution of Palestinians convicted by a military court of killing Israelis

Israeli authorities are preparing a prison wing—replete with an execution chamber—designated specifically for Palestinian prisoners convicted of murder, Israel’s i24NEWS channel reported Tuesday.

The move comes after the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) approved legislation in March that calls for the execution of Palestinian prisoners convicted by a military court of murdering Israelis.

According to the news channel, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has unveiled plans for Israel’s first prison wing designated exclusively for prisoners facing a death sentence.

The wing is currently under construction in central Israel, the channel reported.

Ben-Gvir’s office said the facility will include an execution chamber, along with areas for families of victims of Palestinian violence, according to the report.

The news channel did not say when construction of the facility is expected to be completed.

In video footage filmed at the construction site, Ben-Gvir declared: “We promised and fulfilled our pledge to pass a death penalty law for terrorists.”

Under the new legislation, Palestinians convicted by military courts of killing Israelis will face a mandatory death sentence unless the court finds that exceptional circumstances warrant a commutation of the sentence, i24NEWS reported.

Death sentences issued under the law can be appealed, the channel said.

Since the legislation was approved in March, no Palestinian prisoners have been sentenced to death.

According to i24NEWS, Israel has carried out the death penalty only twice in its history: in 1962, when Adolf Eichmann, a leading Nazi official, was executed.

Previously, Meir Tobianski, an IDF captain and former Haganah member, faced a summary military court-martial on 30 June 1948 amid the War of Independence.

Accused of treason for supposedly leaking details that helped Jordanian forces target Israeli positions, he was convicted without counsel or any right of appeal and shot by firing squad that same day.

A subsequent investigation exposed the flimsy evidence against him; in 1949 he was fully cleared posthumously, with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion restoring his rank and arranging an honorable military reburial.

Source: AA, Staff; DPN, August 18, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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