Ben Gvir Announces Gallows With Witness Booths in Israel

Israel Builds Gallows With Space for Witnesses

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir released a video on his Telegram channel announcing the start of construction for a "hanging facility" for those sentenced to death. The project, located in central Israel according to La Vanguardia, includes a condemned prisoner's pavilion and the gallows. This measure is presented as fulfilling a promise: to toughen prison conditions and apply capital punishment to convicted terrorists.

A closer look at the news nuances the headline: it would not be a public spectacle, but rather observation booths for victims' families, lawyers, journalists, and other parties involved. The difference is substantial, though no less troubling for abolitionists.

From Public Executions to State Secrecy: The Capital Punishment Curve

The data shaping this debate reveals a clear historical trend. In 1976, over 150 countries applied the death penalty, and public executions were common. Thirty years later, in 1996, that number had dropped to around 100, with secrecy protocols beginning to emerge in Asia. By 2026, only between 47 and 55 countries maintain the practice, with highly regulated access; only the United States formally separates victims and lawyers within the execution chamber.

Israel contradicts this trend by opting for selective publicity. The gallows with observation booths turn punishment into an act with an audience, albeit a restricted one. It is a symbolic return to the nineteenth-century scaffold: death as a scene.

Iran and the Uncomfortable Mirror

Comparisons with Iran frequently arise in the discussion. Tehran regularly carries out public executions, placing Israel in a delicate position when presenting its measure as exceptional. A relevant nuance often cited is that Iran applies capital punishment to its own citizens under its internal legal order; Israel would apply it, according to critical interpretations, to populations in occupied territories deprived of basic rights.

This distinction changes the framework: it is not the same for a state to execute its nationals according to its legislation as for an occupying power to execute people under military administration. This legal distinction is precisely where the Israeli measure becomes most vulnerable to accusations of state vengeance.

Local Echoes: Between Toughness and Alarm

Among the reactions circulating, some call for similar measures in Europe for terrorism crimes, while others point out that the EU abolished the death penalty precisely to avoid resembling regimes that employ it. The underlying issue, analysts suggest, is what democracy gains by displaying death. In 1976, almost everyone did so. In 2026, very few do. Israel has just decided which side of history it wants to stand on.