The Knesset voted 39-16 in favor of the first reading of a government-backed bill that would impose the death penalty on terrorists convicted of murdering Israelis.

Two similar proposals � one by Likud MK Nissim Vaturi and another by Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer � also passed their first readings, 36-15 and 37-14, respectively.

The bill, sponsored by Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, mandates that Israeli courts must sentence to death anyone who carries out a nationalistically motivated murder of an Israeli citizen. It also allows military court judges in Judea and Samaria to hand down such sentences with a simple majority rather than a unanimous ruling, and removes the authority of regional military commanders to commute the punishment.

According to the proposal, it would apply to those who kill Israelis due to �racism� or �with the aim of harming the State of Israel and the revival of the Jewish people in its land.�

Except for Avigdor Liberman�s Yisrael Beytenu � which voted in favor � the opposition largely boycotted the vote, with Blue and White and nearly all of Yesh Atid�s MKs absent. Within the coalition, Degel HaTorah of United Torah Judaism announced it would oppose the bill.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir began handing out �baklavas� in the Knesset moments after the vote, before ushers intervened and confiscated them. The distribution of baklavas is a gesture often seen in Palestinian celebrations following deadly terror attacks, symbolizing rejoicing over violence against Israelis.

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