Far-right Israeli minister demands death penalty for suspects in escalating cycle of violence and impunity
Original framing: “Ben Gvir calls for execution of shooter suspects” — Middle East Eye
The demand for execution mirrors historical patterns of colonial violence, where occupying powers used public executions to instill fear and suppress resistance. The British Mandate in Palestine (1920–1948) employed hangings to quell Palestinian uprisings, a precedent that the current far-right rhetoric echoes. The cycle of violence also parallels the 1948 Nakba, where mass displacement was justified through dehumanizing rhetoric about 'terrorists.'
The demand for execution by Itamar Ben Gvir is not an isolated outburst but a symptom of a deeper systemic crisis: the normalization of state violence as a tool of governance in Israel/Palestine.
This crisis is rooted in the settler-colonial project of the Israeli state, which has historically used punitive measures—from the British Mandate’s hangings to the current far-right’s calls for execution—to suppress Palestinian resistance. The far-right’s rhetoric is enabled by Western complicity, which funds and arms the Israeli military while ignoring its violations of international law. Yet, the solution lies not in escalation but in restorative justice, as demonstrated by models like South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The trickster’s insight reveals the absurdity of vengeance: when the state positions itself as both judge and executioner, it exposes its own moral bankruptcy. The path forward requires dismantling the structures of impunity, centering marginalized voices, and reimagining justice as healing rather than destruction.