Israel has begun building a dedicated execution chamber at a prison in the centre of the country, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced on Tuesday, moving to enforce a law passed in March that mandates the death penalty for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of lethal attacks by military courts.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society called for urgent international action in response to the announcement. Under the legislation, executions must be carried out within 90 days of sentencing. Israel has carried out the death penalty only once in its history, executing Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962.
Ben Gvir, who has proposed filling moats around a Negev prison with Nile crocodiles, is overseeing the project ahead of legislative elections scheduled for 27 October. At least 104 detainees have died in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel.