In Israel, a far-right minister has turned the construction of a gallows facility into a public spectacle, embodying a law that applies capital punishment to Palestinians tried in military courts while shielding Jewish Israelis through carefully crafted legal distinctions. The facility, and the legislation behind it, have drawn condemnation from the United Nations, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and human rights organizations who see in them not merely a policy dispute but a structural inequality written into law. Across history, the question of who a society chooses to execute — and who
Israeli minister posts video of gallows for Palestinian executions
Palestinians convicted of terror offences face execution under a discriminatory legal system; Ben-Gvir has advocated for nightly targeted killings of 30-40 Palestinians in Gaza.
I promised to pass the Death Penalty for Terrorists law—we did.
Mark
Why does Ben-Gvir post this video now? What does he gain from showing it?
Mimi
He's not hiding. He's announcing. The video is a campaign statement—proof that he's delivering on promises to his political base. The gallows aren't secret; they're meant to be seen.
Mark
But doesn't international condemnation matter to him at all?
Mimi
It seems to energize him rather than restrain him. The sanctions, the UN statements—they're noise to his constituency. He's consolidated power domestically. The video is for them, not for Europe or the UN.
Mark
The law itself is what's striking though, isn't it? The asymmetry?
Mimi
Exactly. You could have a death penalty law that applies equally. Instead, this one is written to protect one group and expose another. That's not accidental. That's the point.
Mark
How does a military court system even function under this? Don't judges have discretion?
Mimi
Theoretically yes—they can find "special circumstances" to impose life instead. But the law makes execution the default. It reverses the burden. And military courts are already closed systems with limited appeal rights.
Mark
So Palestinians convicted in these courts know what's coming?
Mimi
Unless a judge decides otherwise, yes. The law removes uncertainty. It's designed to.
Mark
And the viewing booths—that detail seems deliberate too.
Mimi
It transforms execution into spectacle. It's not just punishment; it's performance. Families of victims watch. The message is broadcast. That's not incidental to the law—it's part of what Ben-Gvir is selling.
Il Polso
- Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted video of a gallows complex under construction, framing state execution as a promise kept rather than a moral threshold crossed.
- The death penalty law creates an explicit legal divide: Palestinians in military courts face mandatory execution for terror convictions, while Jewish Israelis are effectively exempt through a provision tied to the intent to deny Israel's existence.
- Days before the gallows video, Ben-Gvir publicly called for nightly targeted killings of 30 to 40 Palestinians in Gaza, describing some as 'not even people' — remarks that France, Germany, and the UN condemned as dehumanizing and in violation of international law.
- France and Ireland have imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir, the UK sanctioned him last year, and Amnesty International has characterized the law as a pillar of what it calls Israel's apartheid system.
- The gallows facility is emerging alongside new Israeli settlement tenders in the E1 block outside Jerusalem, which the UK foreign secretary called 'unacceptable and destructive,' deepening the international community's alarm about the trajectory of Israeli policy.
In Israel, a far-right minister has turned the construction of a gallows facility into a public spectacle, embodying a law that applies capital punishment to Palestinians tried in military courts while shielding Jewish Israelis through carefully crafted legal distinctions. The facility, and the legislation behind it, have drawn condemnation from the United Nations, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and human rights organizations who see in them not merely a policy dispute but a structural inequality written into law. Across history, the question of who a society chooses to execute — and who it protects from execution — has always revealed something essential about how that society defines the humanity of those within and beyond its circle of belonging.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right national security minister, posted a social media video this week walking through the construction site of a gallows facility near a prison, pointing at foundations and describing viewing booths where victims' families will watch executions. The video was not an accidental leak — it was a deliberate act of political theater, consistent with a minister who celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake iced with the image of a noose.
The facility is the physical expression of a law passed by the Israeli parliament earlier this year by a narrow margin of 62 to 48 votes. What makes the law remarkable is not that it authorizes capital punishment, but how selectively it does so. Palestinians convicted of terror offences in military courts face mandatory execution unless a court finds exceptional circumstances. Jewish Israelis are effectively protected by a provision limiting the law's reach to murders committed with the specific intent to deny Israel's existence — a threshold that creates a two-tiered system of justice defined by nationality and religion.
Ben-Gvir has a long record of extremist positions. He holds convictions for incitement to racism and support for the Kach movement, a banned terrorist organization. He has served as national security minister since 2022. Days before the gallows video, he called for nightly targeted killings of 30 to 40 Palestinians in Gaza, describing some as people who 'don't even deserve to live' and 'are not even people.' The French foreign minister called these remarks 'unacceptable and inhuman.' Germany's chancellor condemned them as violations of international law. The UN secretary general described them as 'appalling,' 'outrageous,' and 'dangerous.'
Amnesty International's senior director characterized the death penalty law as dismantling fundamental safeguards against arbitrary deprivation of life and further empowering what the organization calls Israel's system of apartheid. France and Ireland have imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir in recent months, joining earlier UK sanctions.
The gallows video emerged alongside separate condemnation of new Israeli settlement tenders in the E1 block outside Jerusalem. The UK foreign secretary summoned Israel's charge d'affaires and called the expansion 'unacceptable and destructive,' warning it risks severing the West Bank from East Jerusalem. Together, the two developments have deepened the international community's concern that Israeli policy is moving in a direction incompatible with international humanitarian standards and any viable path toward peace.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right national security minister, posted a video on social media this week showing the construction of a gallows facility where Palestinians convicted of terror offences will be executed. In the footage, he walks through a cordoned-off area near a prison, pointing at foundations being laid, and speaks directly to the camera about keeping promises. The viewing booths he described—designed for families of victims to watch the hangings—are part of a complex that represents the physical manifestation of a law passed earlier this year that has drawn fierce international condemnation.
The death penalty law that makes this facility possible passed the Israeli parliament by a narrow margin of 62 to 48 votes. What distinguishes it is not simply that it authorizes capital punishment, but how it applies that punishment. Palestinians convicted in military courts of terror offences face mandatory execution unless a court identifies special circumstances warranting life imprisonment instead. Jewish Israelis, by contrast, are effectively shielded from the law through a provision that limits its application to murder committed with the specific intent to deny the existence of the state of Israel—a threshold that creates a two-tiered system of justice based on the nationality and religion of the accused.
Ben-Gvir has been the driving force behind this legislation. He has a long record of extremist positions and provocations. He holds convictions for incitement to racism, interference with police, and support for a banned terrorist organization—the Kach movement founded by Meir Kahane. He has served as national security minister since 2022, with only a two-month interruption last year. In May, he celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake decorated with an iced image of a noose. The gallows video is consistent with his pattern of public boasting about hardline policies.
Days before the video emerged, Ben-Gvir made comments that triggered a wave of international rebuke. He advocated for nightly targeted killings of 30 to 40 Palestinians in Gaza, describing some of them as people who "don't even deserve to live" and "are not even people." The French foreign minister called these remarks "unacceptable and inhuman." Germany's chancellor said he strongly condemned the "inhumane appeals" as violations of international law. The UN secretary general described them as "appalling," "outrageous," "dehumanising," and "dangerous." France and Ireland imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir in recent months, joining earlier UK sanctions from last year.
Amnesty International's senior director, Erika Guevara-Rosas, characterized the death penalty law itself as fundamentally discriminatory, saying it "dismantles fundamental safeguards to prevent the arbitrary deprivation of life and protect the right to a fair trial, and further empowers Israel's system of apartheid, which is maintained by scores of discriminatory laws against Palestinians." The law represents one of two significant pieces of legislation passed by Israeli MPs this year, and its passage has become a focal point for international criticism of Israeli policy.
The timing of the gallows video coincides with broader international condemnation of Israeli actions. The UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, recently summoned Israel's charge d'affaires to protest new tenders issued for the E1 settlement block outside Jerusalem. Miliband called the settlement expansion an "unacceptable and destructive act" that risks separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem, and reiterated that all settlements breach international law and damage prospects for a two-state solution. The gallows facility and the settlement expansion represent parallel expressions of policy that the international community views as incompatible with international humanitarian standards and the path toward peace.
Citazioni salienti
It dismantles fundamental safeguards to prevent the arbitrary deprivation of life and protect the right to a fair trial, and further empowers Israel's system of apartheid.— Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International
I think we should be doing 30 to 40 targeted assassinations per night. There are people there who don't deserve to live. They are not even people.— Itamar Ben-Gvir
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su The Guardian ↗
Politics & Governance