Israel's parliament has passed the first reading of a bill proposing the death penalty for those it deems to be terrorists acting against the state - a requirement which means it is likely to be used only against Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis.
The far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir - whose Jewish Power party brought the vote - celebrated late on Monday by handing out sweets after the bill was approved in the 120-seat Knesset by 39 votes to 16.
After the law is finally passed - terrorists will only be released to hell, he said.
The bill must pass two more readings before becoming law.
In the same session, the Knesset also approved the first reading of another controversial bill allowing the Israeli government to close a foreign media outlet without court approval. That vote was 50 in favour and 41 against.
While the death penalty does exist for a small number of crimes in Israel, it has only been used twice since 1948. The last time was when the Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann, was hanged in 1962, after a public trial.
The clause about harming Israel makes it likely that Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks, but not Jewish Israelis, will be sentenced to death.
The foreign ministry of the Palestinian Authority described the proposed law as a new form of escalating Israeli extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people.
Palestinian human rights organisations have expressed that the bill could lead to retroactive applications, potentially affecting many detainees identified as terrorists.
Amid growing tensions following violent conflicts, this bill marks a decisive shift in Israeli legislative priorities regarding issues of national security and the treatment of perceived threats.
