Israeli Death Penalty Bill: A Violation of International Law
Palestinian Analysts React to the Proposed Legislation
Palestinian lawyers and activists have expressed alarm over the Israeli parliament’s passage of a bill that would introduce the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis. The bill, which targets Palestinians, undermines judicial safeguards and seeks to erase the status of Palestinian detainees as protected under international law.
The Bill’s Provisions
The proposed legislation would grant Israeli courts expanded power to impose mandatory death sentences on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, when such acts are deemed to have been motivated by nationalistic, racist or hate-based reasons, or intended to harm the State of Israel or its people. It would also remove the authority for a government or president to pardon anyone who has been sentenced to death for those crimes, and it does not require a panel of judges in a given case to reach a unanimous decision on the sentence.
International Humanitarian Law
Critics argue that the move to legalise the death penalty is part of a broader effort to strip Palestinians of their protections under international humanitarian law as an occupied people with a right to resistance. The Israeli Knesset, dominated by the far-right, is working to turn killing into official legislation, and the proposed law is an attempt to erase international recognition of the Palestinian fighter and turn him into a criminal defendant.
Reactions from Palestinian Advocates
Farid al-Atrash, the director of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in the occupied West Bank, stated that the proposed law would punish Palestinians for struggling for their freedom. Amjad al-Najjar, of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, agreed that the proposed law was an effort to take away the rights of the Palestinian people. Saeed al-Awiwi, a Palestinian lawyer and former judge, framed the proposed law as the latest clampdown on Palestinian legal rights.
Condemnation from Human Rights Organisations
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty International have condemned the bill as a form of institutionalised discrimination targeting Palestinians. Under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, the execution of prisoners of war or protected persons – including those under occupation – is prohibited. The proposed law would contravene that rule.
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