DaysofPal- Palestinian legal experts and rights advocates say a new Israeli bill advancing through parliament to introduce the death penalty punishment against Palestinians violates international law and entrenches a discriminatory system of justice.
The legislation, which passed its first reading in the Knesset in early November, would allow Israeli civil and military courts to impose mandatory death sentences on Palestinian prisoners is deemed to have racist or nationalist motives.
Analysts say the bill is clearly designed to target Palestinians, even as Israeli settlers and soldiers continue to kill Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and as the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza has resulted in mass civilian casualties.
“This law practically aims to execute prisoners simply for their struggle for their people’s freedom and their right to self-determination,” said Farid al Atrash, director of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in the occupied West Bank.
Rights groups already describe conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody as severe. At least 94 Palestinian detainees have died in the past two years, according to prisoners’ advocates, amid mounting allegations of torture, medical neglect and rape documented on video.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israeli prison system, has repeatedly boasted about worsening conditions for Palestinian detainees.
In October, he was filmed standing over Palestinians forced face-down on the ground, demanding the death penalty be introduced for what he called “terrorists.”
Legal experts warn that the bill goes beyond introducing capital punishment by stripping away key safeguards.
It removes the power of the Israeli president or government to pardon those sentenced to death under its provisions, and it does not require a unanimous judicial decision for a death sentence to be imposed.
Palestinian lawyers argue that the law further entrenches a double standard, pointing to a long record of Israelis receiving lenient treatment or acquittals in cases involving violence against Palestinians.
“The Israeli Knesset, dominated by the far right, is working to turn killing into official legislation,” said Hassan Breijieh, head of the Bethlehem office of the Wall and Settlements Resistance Commission.
“It is an attempt to erase international recognition of the Palestinian fighter and turn him into a common criminal,” Breijieh added.
Critics say the draft law is part of a broader attempt to remove Palestinians from the protections afforded by international humanitarian law as an occupied people with a recognized right to resist occupation.
“It is a double crime. It is a racist law targeting Palestinians specifically, and also a clear violation of international law,” said Amjad al Najjar of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.
Palestinian lawyer and former judge Saeed al Awiwi said the move comes amid a wider clampdown on detainees’ rights, including sharply restricted access to legal counsel, particularly in military courts.
He noted that many Palestinians have already died in custody without trial or sentencing, saying that codifying the death penalty would simply legitimize lethal practices already in place.
“The move towards legal execution legalizes actions already practiced by the occupation, but without accountability,” al Awiwi said.
Supporters of the bill in the Israeli government say it is essential for security. The Knesset’s National Security Committee has argued that the law is needed “to cut off terrorism at its root and create a heavy deterrent”.
Palestinian advocates counter that the measure instead represents an attempt to “prosecute freedom” by criminalizing resistance and removing even the limited legal protections that remain for Palestinians under the Israeli occupation.
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