From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 30, 2026
Knesset set to cast final votes on death penalty bill
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
The Knesset is set to vote on the far-right Otzma Yehudit party’s controversial bill to legislate the death penalty for terrorists in its second and third readings.
The bill is likely to be passed despite reported pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Otzma Yehudit chair to withdraw the bill.
It is among a series of last-minute laws that the coalition is trying to advance prior to the end of the current Knesset legislative session tomorrow and the beginning of the Knesset’s Passover recess.
Democrats MK Gilad Kariv, who sits on the Knesset National Security Committee and has been among the fiercest opponents of the bill, says the bill amounts to an election stunt and writes in a post on X that it is “immoral, un-Jewish, undemocratic, and yes, also ineffective from a security standpoint.”
“Opposition members who do not clearly and unequivocally oppose this law are buying golden shares in the takeover of the State of Israel by Kahanism,” he adds.
Right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beytenu has said it will vote in favor of the legislation if both Netanyahu and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri show up in person to vote in favor.
The Times of Israel Community.