LONDON: Leading humanitarian and human rights groups have condemned Israel’s approval of the death penalty bill, warning that the law will “de facto apply exclusively to Palestinians.”
In a statement released by Amnesty International, the signatories said they were “appalled by the Israeli Knesset’s decision to approve a bill that makes the death penalty effectively mandatory in the West Bank,” as they urged the EU to take immediate action to pressure a reversal in the legislation.
It follows the Knesset’s approval of the bill on Monday that was introduced by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister.
It expanded the use of the death penalty in both military and civilian courts in Israel, where laws permit execution for cases of genocide and wartime espionage.
The new legislation “not only marks a significant regression: it also does so by imposing capital punishment on de facto ethnic or national grounds and by diluting basic legal safeguards,” the statement said.
It was signed by more than 30 groups, including Caritas Europe, Christian Aid, EuroMed Rights, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and United Against Inhumanity.
“Military courts may impose capital punishment by a simple majority, even without a prosecutorial request. Sentences cannot be commuted or pardoned and must be carried out within 90 days. Notably, Israeli settlers in the West Bank are explicitly excluded from the scope of this provision,” the statement said.
Due to the law allowing civilian courts to impose the death penalty for intentional killings that aim to “negate the existence of the State of Israel,” it is effectively designed to exclusively target Palestinians, it said.
“The EU has consistently held that capital punishment is cruel, inhuman and incompatible with human dignity under all circumstances. But even beyond this principled stance, the new Israeli law breaches basic safeguards recognized by the international community to protect the rights of those facing the death penalty,” the statement said.
“Its discriminatory nature and lack of due process guarantee, violate the right to life and protections enshrined in international humanitarian and human rights law, such as the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Regulations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.”
Because diplomatic efforts by the EU to urge a reversal in Israeli policy have “proven ineffective,” the bloc must “uphold its stated principles and legal obligations by finally suspending, as a minimum immediate measure, the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement,” the signatories said.
“Israel has already crossed established EU red lines: the advancement of settlement construction in the E1 area, which breaks the territorial contiguity of the West Bank, with the intent to prevent a future Palestinian state; the ban on UNRWA and attacks on its facilities, including schools and clinics built and run with EU contributions; the expulsion of international NGOs through restrictive registration procedures; forced evictions of Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem; forced displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians and widespread demolitions of Palestinian homes and infrastructure in the West Bank, including EU-funded projects; persistent impunity for abuses by Israeli security forces and state-backed settler violence; reports of widespread and systemic torture and mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners; restrictions on religious freedoms; attacks on journalists; and denial of access to EU officials.
“The time for action is long overdue.”
