A human rights group, the Red Ribbons Campaign, has “condemned in the strongest terms” efforts by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to advance death penalty legislation targeting Palestinians.
The group, which raises awareness about the 9,100 Palestinians that are held unlawfully in Israeli detention, described the minister as the “hangman of the century” for seeking the execution of Palestinians.
It warned that many Palestinians held by Israel could now face execution under the proposed measures.
The group added that the Israeli politician continued “efforts to promote apartheid and racism against Palestinians, and for expressing his aims to hang Palestinian prisoners and kill them by all means, Ben Gvir has earned the 2026 grim crown as ‘World’s hangman of the century’.”
At least 3,532 Palestinians are currently held in administrative detention, an Israeli policy that allows the military to detain individuals without charge or trial for renewable six-month periods.
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More than 342 prisoners are children, while 84 are women and 119 are serving life sentences.
Arrests have surged sharply since the Israeli genocide in Gaza began in October 2023. Before that, Israeli authorities held around 5,250 Palestinians in prison.
“We view Ben Gvir’s push towards executions as a dangerous escalation that risks entrenching irreversible punishment within a system already marked by deep inequality,” the Red Ribbons Campaign said.
“We state plainly: a man who persistently advocates for policies enabling execution under such conditions must be held to the highest level of scrutiny and accountability,” it added.
Earlier this month, Ben Gvir marked his 50th birthday with a cake decorated with a noose, referencing the newly passed death penalty law targeting Palestinian detainees.
Ben Gvir also posted a controversial TikTok video in which he says he “dreams” of nooses, using the viral “I know I should sleep, but the voices in my head go…” trend to promote the legislation.
The video, posted on 4 May, shows a montage of AI-generated images of everyday objects shaped like gallows and execution ropes, set to the trend’s audio.
Ben Gvir has long pushed for the introduction of the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners, a measure the Knesset approved in its second and third readings on 30 March by a 62–48 vote.
