Far-right Israeli minister boasts of 'gallows for hanging Palestinians' amid rising regional tensions

Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, recently unveiled the construction of a gallows facility designated for the execution of Palestinians convicted of terror offenses. Ben-Gvir, who shared a video from the undisclosed construction site in central Israel, boasted that the complex would include viewing booths for victims' families to observe the hangings. This development follows a controversial law passed in March 2026, which mandates the death penalty by hanging for terrorism-related killings, but applies specifically to Palestinians tried in military courts, not Jewish Israelis accused of similar crimes.

The minister justified the project as fulfilling campaign pledges, asserting that "terrorists deserve only one thing: death by hanging." This action and Ben-Gvir's recent calls for widespread killings in Gaza have intensified regional tensions and sparked widespread international condemnation. Human rights organizations, along with countries like France and Germany, and the United Nations, have decried the initiative, arguing that it creates a discriminatory two-tier justice system, violates fundamental human rights, and transforms executions into a "public spectacle of political vengeance."