A parliamentary committee in Israel’s legislature has advanced a bill that would allow courts to sentence Palestinian prisoners to death if they are convicted of killing Israelis for “nationalistic” motives. The death penalty bill was spearheaded by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, framing capital punishment as a deterrent against Palestinian resistance despite warnings it could endanger Israeli hostages. According to a report by Middle East Eye, Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups – the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – described the bill as an “unprecedented act of savagery”. Gvir has placed Palestinian detainees under unprecedentedly harsh conditions, including torture, starvation, and sexual assault. At least 76 identified Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody over the past two years, though the actual number is feared to be significantly higher.