NOVEMBER 12, 2025:West Bank Violence Against Palestinians Takes Center Stage; Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill Passes First Reading; Abbas Tries to Block German-Sponsored Israeli–Palestinian Dialogue
Tel Aviv Diary
After months of relative silence, Israeli media are finally beginning to focus on the surge of violence in the West Bank targeting Palestinians. The statement I published yesterday from the IDF has drawn wide media attention, along with several videos showing settlers assaulting Palestinians at random. Leaders of the settlement movement continue to insist that this violence is perpetrated by “a small group of unruly youths.” However, no one seems to be able, or willing, to control them.
POLITICAL SILENCE AMID SETTLER VIOLENCE
Yesterday’s report noted that of those who attacked both Palestinians and soldiers, four were arrested and taken in by Police for questioning. I can guarantee you that none of these attackers will face the kind of punishment a Palestinian would receive for throwing stones at an army vehicle (i.e., 20 years in prison), or for almost anything else. As shown in the chart below, assaults on Palestinians in the territories have risen sharply over the past four years. Senior Army commanders are now urging the government to reinstate the military’s authority to hold Jewish suspects in administrative detention, a measure that Defense Minister Katz revoked shortly after taking office. IDF commanders say that ending the use of administrative detention for Jewish assailants has weakened Israel’s ability to deter future attacks.
So far, Katz has not condemned yesterday’s violence. It is worth noting that settlers represent a disproportionately large share of voters in Likud Party primaries. Moreover, not a single member of the governing coalition has spoken out against the attacks.
According to a report released tonight, since National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took office, the number of investigations into violent incidents involving Jews in the West Bank has dropped by 70 percent. Sadly, during the same period, the level and number of violent incidents have continued to rise.
ABBAS ATTEMPTS TO BLOCK ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN DIALOGUE NEAR JERICHO
Those of you who didn’t catch the podcast I released earlier today with Kirsten Müller may have missed some important news. In that episode of Tel Aviv Diary, Kirsten Kirsten described the recent Palestinian dialogue that took place two days ago, which I wrote about last night. The event was originally scheduled to be held at a monastery outside Jericho, but due to pressure from the Palestinian Authority and President Abbas, the monastery canceled at the last minute. The organizers quickly secured an alternate venue (a restaurant whose owners, after being paid, agreed to host the gathering) and made it clear they were indifferent to Abbas’s objections.
However, Kirsten, who previously served as Germany’s Deputy Foreign Minister and remains deeply engaged in German politics, was outraged. She expressed anger that Abbas, whose administration receives substantial financial and political backing from Berlin, would attempt to obstruct a dialogue sponsored by a German government–funded NGO. In response, she is now urging her government to reconsider its support for Abbas.
DEATH PENALTY FOR TERRORISTS
The Knesset has passed, in its first reading, a bill that purports to guarantee the death penalty for terrorists. Israel once had the death penalty for murder, inherited from British Mandate law, but it was abolished in the early 1950s. Since then, the death penalty has been applied only once, under special legislation for crimes against humanity, in the case of Adolf Eichmann. During the War of Independence, there was also a well-known incident in which a man accused of espionage was executed by a military tribunal, only to be found innocent later.
The renewed push for the capital punishment for terrorists has been the longstanding pet project of National Security Minister Ben-Gvir. The Army and security services oppose the idea, arguing that it fails to deter attacks, risks turning killers into martyrs, and would lead many terrorists to fight to the death rather than surrender, knowing they could face execution afterward.
The bill, which has yet to become law, is deeply problematic, because it applies the death penalty only when the perpetrator is non-Jewish and the victim is Jewish. When the law’s sponsor was asked, “What about Jewish terrorists?,” she replied, “There’s no such thing as a Jewish terrorist.” I am not sure whom she thinks Baruch Goldstein* was, after all, the leader of her own party once displayed his photograph in her living room.
[Baruch Goldstein was an Israeli-American physician and extremist who, in 1994, carried out the massacre at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and wounding more than 100 others. Goldstein was overpowered and beaten to death by survivors immediately after the attack.]
The legislation also strips judges of discretion, requiring them to impose the death penalty automatically on anyone convicted of killing a Jew in a terror attack. As written, the measure is almost certain to be struck down by the courts. It violates core principles of equality before the law, as well as the judicial right, and obligation, to assess each case on its own merits.
Such a law would place Israel among some of the world’s most repressive regimes, including China, North Korea, and Yemen, which record the highest numbers of executions. By contrast, the United States remains the only Western nation that still practices capital punishment, a subject for discussion at another time.
There is also a practical dimension to consider. Many individuals sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorist attacks have later been released in hostage-exchange deals after groups such as Hamas have captured Israelis. The logic has been that executing prisoners would remove any leverage in future negotiations for the release of hostages. I should also mention that those who were freed have, in effect, never fully paid for their crimes.
TRUMP REQUESTS PRESIDENTIAL PARDON FOR NETANYAHU
Today, President Trump sent an official letter to President Herzog. which appears below, urging him to pardon Prime Minister Netanyahu for his alleged crimes so that he might “focus on uniting the country.” Pardons are typically granted only after the accused has admitted guilt. There has been one notable exception: when President Herzog’s father issued a pardon to several security officers accused of killing a prisoner, though that occurred before their trial began. In Netanyahu’s case, the proceedings are already well underway.
Former Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak has also raised the idea of a presidential pardon, but with a crucial condition: Netanyahu would have to acknowledge his wrongdoing, receive the pardon, and then step away from public life.
At this stage, I believe 95% of Israelis would support such a decision. Few on the left, or even among Netanyahu’s political opponents, still wish to see him behind bars; most simply want him out of office. He has been charged with multiple offenses and has remained on trial for years, largely due to procedural delays orchestrated by his legal team.
Netanyahu’s supporters insist the charges are baseless and that the trial is collapsing. Yet if that were truly the case, why is he pressing so urgently for a pardon rather than allowing the proceedings to conclude and clear his name? Serious questions continue to surround his conduct, including his role in the submarine affair and reports of his ties to Qatar, matters that may never be fully resolved.
SYRIAN PRESIDENT VISITS WASHINGTON
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the completion of what he described as a successful visit to Washington, highlighted by a significant meeting with President Trump. Following their discussion, Trump reportedly ended the meeting saying that al-Sharaa was “a man he can work with,” and the United States subsequently lifted nearly all sanctions against Syria. Damascus is now preparing to reopen its embassy in Washington
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In interviews after the meeting, al-Sharaa stated that Syria is engaged in talks with Israel aimed at reaching a security arrangement. However, al-Sharaa insisted that Israel must withdraw from the areas it captured over this past year, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government. Al-Sharaa also made clear that Syria has no plans to join the Abraham Accords in the near future, saying that border issues with Israel
