Tag: Ben-Gvir

Israel proposes death penalty for Palestinians


First reading passes in the Knesset

November 2025

Israel’s intention to introduce the death penalty has been met with widespread alarm and criticism form both within and outside the country. The bill was introduced by Itama Ben-Gvir who afterwards distributed baclava pastries to celebrate. The last time Israel used the penalty – which has been on the books since the country was founded – was in 1962 for the Nazi Adolf Eichmann.

“An indelible stain on Israel” Haaretz editorial 3 November

The law as proposed, is drafted in a way to apply only to Palestinians and is another example of the

apartheid system which operates in the country. It will be administered by military courts peopled often by individuals who have little or no judicial experience.

Neither will the court have discretion since the sentence will be mandatory. It is Ben-Gvir’s claim that the penalty will be a deterrence. There is next to no evidence for this and the same arguments against the use of the penalty apply here as to the rest of the world. It is barbaric and reduces the state to the level of the perpetrators. Mistakes cannot be rectified. It is not a deterrent. One of the few notionally civilized countries which retains and uses the penalty is the US. A study there between the States with the penalty and those without found no difference in murder rates. In fact, murder rates are higher in states with the death penalty.

Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, said:

“There is no sugarcoating this; a majority of 39 Israeli Knesset members approved in a first reading a bill that effectively mandates courts to impose the death penalty exclusively against Palestinians. While the text of the bill does not specifically single out Palestinians, the mental element required for the offence concerned signals its primary victims are going to be Palestinians and would include those who committed the punishable offences before the law is passed.

“Knesset members should be working to abolish the death penalty, not broadening its application. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and an irreversible denial of the right to life. It should not be imposed in any circumstances, let alone weaponized as a blatantly discriminatory tool of state-sanctioned killing, domination and oppression. Its mandatory imposition and retroactive application would violate clear prohibitions set out under international human rights law and standards on the use of this punishment.“

Sources: Knesset, BBC, CNN, Haaretz; le Monde, Amnesty

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Vigils continue


Vigils continue. A very fragile ceasefire in place

October 2025

We held the 98th vigil yesterday (18th October) even though there is a ceasefire in place. We have debated during the last two vigils whether to carry on but the feeling is that the peace deal will not last. In the last few days and hours, 9 more have died in Gaza bringing the total to 67,967 of whom 20,179 are children. Injuries are put at 170,179 since the conflict began. There have been sporadic clashes between the IDF and Hamas the truth of which is impossible to discern. Ben-Gvir the security minister for Israel is quoted as saying to the prime minister ‘order the IDF to fully resume combat in the Gaza strip with maximum force. An air attack on Rafah took place today while this was being typed. No independent journalists have been allowed into the territory.

All the hostages have been returned but Hamas are having difficulty (they claim) in locating all of the deceased hostages under the rubble. Two more were returned today.

At present, the prospects do not look promising. Hamas has not disarmed and there was footage of executions taking place in the street. These were claimed to be members of gangs allegedly armed and funded by Israel, operating in Gaza.

Massive aid convoys have been held up on the Egyptian border.

[Below] mourner at the grave of one of the returned hostages (picture: Haaretz)

A video of the vigil can be viewed here. For those interested here is a link to all the videos produced by Peter Gloyns for whom we are grateful for permission to post them.

A copy of the report on the UK’s role in arming Israel published by CAAT is available here.

Sources: Independent, CNN, Al Jazeera, Haaretz.

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Madleen Mission and the Crisis in Gaza: A Symbol of Solidarity


Events happening thick and fast

June 2025

Two major events have happened in the past few days in relation to the worsening situation in Gaza. A boat trying to make a symbolic visit to Gaza with food and other aid was intercepted in international waters by Israel. Today (10 June) the UK government joined others in sanctioning two members of the Israeli government. The Secretary General of Amnesty said:

By forcibly intercepting and blocking the Madleen (pictured) which was carrying humanitarian aid and a crew of solidarity activists, Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip and demonstrated its chilling contempt for legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice

The operation carried out in the middle of the night and in international waters violates international law and put the safety of those on the boat at risk. The crew were unarmed activists and human rights defenders on a humanitarian mission, they must be released immediately and unconditionally. They must also be protected from torture and other ill-treatment pending their release. 

During its voyage over the past few days the Madleen’s mission emerged as a powerful symbol of solidarity with besieged, starved and suffering Palestinians amid persistent international inaction. However, this very mission is also an indictment of the international community’s failure to put an end to Israel’s inhumane blockade. Activists would not have needed to risk their lives had Israel’s allies translated their rhetoric into forceful action to allow aid into Gaza

Israel’s interception of the Madleen despite global calls for it to be granted safe passage underscores the longstanding impunity Israel enjoys which has emboldened it to continue to commit genocide in Gaza and to maintain a suffocating, illegal blockade on Gaza for 18 years. 

Until we see real concrete steps by states worldwide signalling an end to their blanket support for Israel, it will have carte blanche to continue inflicting relentless death and suffering on Palestinians.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International

UK government announces sanctions

Today, the UK government announced sanctions against two members of the Israeli government, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for their various statements about the conflict in Gaza. Smotrich is quoted as saying:

“Gaza will be entirely destroyed” as a result of an Israeli military victory, and that its Palestinian population will “leave in great numbers to third countries”

raising fears of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territory.

He is also quoted as saying that he wants life for the Palestinians to be as dire as possible by confining them to a narrow strip of land:

“They will be totally despairing, understanding that there is no hope and nothing to look for in Gaza, and will be looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.”

These and other quotes are not from a hot-head or someone on the fringes of Israeli society but from the Security Minister (Gvir) and Finance Minister (Smotrich). Nor are they isolated statements said in the heat of the moment but part of a pattern of similar statements. The Israeli foreign affairs minister said it ‘was outrageous that elected representatives and members of the government are subjected to these kinds of measures [UK sanctions]’,

The UK government has been under a huge amount of pressure to act especially as the blockage and its appalling effects began to be seen. Shooting people desperate for food after weeks of a blockade has been widely condemned.

Neither event will have much of an impact on Israel so long as America continues its unwavering support. More and more countries, under pressure from people who are outraged by what they see, are beginning to take a tougher line however. There are no viable peace talks taking place at present. The word ‘genocide’ is being used more and more: the deliberate and systematic killing or persecution of a large number of people from a particular national or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group. Just under 55,000 thousand have died in Gaza.

Sources: Jerusalem Post; Palestine Chronicle; Haaretz; Guardian.

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