Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has showcased a prison facility being built for executions by hanging, saying the project fulfils a pledge he made to introduce and implement the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.

In a video recorded at the construction site, Ben-Gvir said: “I promised to pass the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law - we did. I promised to establish a facility; it is being executed.”

The facility is being built inside an existing death-row wing at an undisclosed prison in central Israel, according to Ben-Gvir’s office. It is intended for prisoners sentenced to death under Israel’s new law, which was passed by the Knesset in March. The facility is also planned to contain viewing booths where bereaved Israeli families could watch executions.

Ben-Gvir said the site would be used if a person convicted under the law survived an attack and was subsequently sentenced to death. He also referred to the possibility of executions taking place after lethal incidents in which alleged attackers are not killed at the scene.

He said the viewing areas would allow victims’ families to observe executions, comparing the arrangement with practices in the United States.

The Knesset approved the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law on 30 March by 62 votes to 48, with one abstention. The law makes hanging the default punishment for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks defined as terrorism, while allowing life imprisonment in what it describes as special circumstances.

The legislation also provides for executions within 90 days of a final sentence and removes a previous requirement for a unanimous military-court decision. In May, the Israeli military’s Central Command amended West Bank security regulations to put the law into effect there.

Israel had not carried out an execution for a murder conviction since abolishing the death penalty for murder in 1954. The only person executed following a civilian trial was Adolf Eichmann, a leading organiser of the Holocaust, in 1962.

The law has faced legal and international criticism. Rights groups have argued that it discriminates against Palestinians, while an Association for Civil Rights in Israel petition challenging the legislation was filed with the Supreme Court. Several European governments also criticised the measure before its passage.

Ben-Gvir has made tougher treatment of Palestinian prisoners and the death penalty central to his political agenda. In June, he appointed six bereaved family members as official inspectors under the new law, giving them a role in overseeing conditions for prisoners sentenced to death and aspects of its implementation.

The execution facility remains under construction, and no execution under the new law has been reported.