DayofPal—Thousands of people around the globe have joined Red Ribbon Campaign on Friday and the global action to pressure Israel not to execute Palestinian hostages in Israeli jails.
Israel held over 6900 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including 86 women, 350 children, and 3532 under administrative detention.
On International Prisoners’ Day, people in 20 countries have decided to take to the streets to speak up against arbitrary detention, apartheid, and injustice. Others joined the #FreePalHostages campaign online.
#FreePalHostages
Thousands of Palestinians and pro-Palestine advocates have taken part in the “Free Palestinian Hostages” campaign, both online and on the ground through protests.
At these demonstrations, participants wave Palestinian flags and wear red ribbons to symbolize detention without charge, while denouncing what they describe as Israel’s routine use of torture, sexual abuse, arbitrary arrest, and inhumane treatment against Palestinians.
They say Israel operates a system rooted in apartheid and genocide, and call for an immediate end to mass incarceration.
The campaign has spread across Europe, with cities like Paris and Athens witnessing large-scale demonstrations as tens of thousands of people filled the streets in support of Palestine.
Online, supporters have used the hashtag #FreePalHostages to highlight the suffering of Palestinian detainees and call for their immediate release
What Is the New Death Penalty Law?
Under this law, military courts are able to impose the death penalty specifically on Palestinian hostages and detainees accused of committing alleged attacks described as “nationally or security motivated.” It does not include Zionists who killed native Palestinians, making it a law that is racially discriminatory.
The law, which was approved on March 30 and is to take effect by the end of April, will apply to Palestinians from the West Bank who are tried in Israeli military courts.
Palestinians slammed the bill as “a war crime against the Palestinian people”, saying it violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, particularly the protections it guarantees for individuals and the safeguards for fair trials.
The rights group B’Tselem pointed out before the Knesset’s approval of the bill that the conviction rate for Palestinians tried in military courts is about 96 percent.
“The law is worded in such a way that it targets only Palestinians. And it will turn the killing of Palestinians into an accepted and common tool of punishment through several mechanisms,” it said.
“In many cases, these convictions are based on ‘confessions’ obtained through pressure and torture during interrogations,” the group said.
It was pushed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as one of the main conditions of his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party’s coalition agreement with Netanyahu. Ben-Gvir was seen celebrating with champagne in the parliamentary chamber.
“This law targets Palestinians and entrenches Israel’s long-standing policy of extrajudicial execution under the guise of law, in clear violation of international human rights and humanitarian law,” the PCHR said in a social media post.
“For years, we have seen an alarming pattern of apparent extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings of Palestinians – with the perpetrators also enjoying near-total impunity. This new law which allows for state-sanctioned executions is a culmination of such policies,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director of research.
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