Israeli Ambassador In Bern Defends Extension Of Death Penalty

“I understand Switzerland's view that capital punishment violates human dignity,” he told Tamedia.

But in Israel, the focus is also on the dignity of the victims of terror, their families and on preventing further terrorist attacks, Schlosser said in the interview published on Tuesday.

“If a terrorist receives a life sentence, that is no deterrent,” he said. The detainees know that they will be released in the next hostage exchange.“In this way, we create an incentive to commit even more attacks,” he said.

The Israeli parliament approved the law to extend the death penalty last week by a narrow majority.“If a majority wants such a law, that is our sovereign decision,” said Schlosser. What's more, Israel is not the only democratic state that has the death penalty, he said.

“Now we have this law, and with it comes the question of how the law is applied,” he said. Judges would decide when to impose the death penalty. The convicts have the right to take legal action, said the ambassador.

+ How Switzerland is trying to kill the death penalty

The law stipulates that the death penalty or life imprisonment can be imposed for terrorism-motivated murder with the aim of destroying the state of Israel. In Israeli military courts in the Palestinian territories, the death penalty is even mandatory in such cases and must be carried out by hanging by a prison guard within 90 days of conviction.

The Swiss foreign ministry intervened with Schlosser. The head of the ministry's Peace and Human Rights Division, Tim Enderlin, wants to explain Switzerland's position to him personally at a meeting, according to a statement from the foreign ministry. The SonntagsBlick newspaper first reported on the planned meeting.

“Switzerland rejects the death penalty everywhere and under all circumstances, as it is incompatible with the right to life and human dignity,” emphasised the foreign ministry on Sunday at the request of the Swiss news Agency Keystone-SDA.

This content was published on Jul 10, 2025 While the global trend toward abolishing the death penalty continues, the number of executions worldwide rose in 2024.