Palestinian FM Denounces ’Israeli’ Death Penalty Bill for Detainees

By Staff, Agencies

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned a new "Israeli" draft law that allows the death penalty for Palestinian detainees.

On Monday, the so-called “National Security” Committee of the "Israeli" Knesset [parliament] approved a bill that would allow the execution of Palestinian detainees, paving the way for its referral to the Knesset General Assembly for discussion and voting in the upcoming legislative session.

In a statement released on Monday, the ministry called the bill a war crime and a sign of the occupation’s growing extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people.

The bill has received preliminary approval from the "Israeli" Knesset's Committee.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said "Israel’s" judicial system and the Knesset act as "Israel’s" tools to legitimize crimes against Palestinians and guarantee impunity.

It said the measure is also an extension of "Israel's" genocide in Gaza to the occupied West Bank, with serious implications for the detainees.

Highlighting the bill's violation of international norms and the four Geneva Conventions, the Palestinian ministry pointed to the concerning trend of racial extremism and fascism within the "Israeli" legal framework.

It said that the Palestinian people and their leadership are prepared to confront this bill through various legal and political means.

Furthermore, the ministry called on the international community and legal institutions to take immediate action against this troubling development.

This includes activating mechanisms for accountability and justice, placing Knesset members who support the law on terrorism lists, and advocating for a boycott of both the lawmakers and this perceived racist institution.

The ministry warned that if the bill is enacted without accountability measures for those who proposed, endorsed, or voted in favor of it, it would represent a grave stain on humanity's conscience and suggest complicity in extrajudicial executions.

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad had earlier slammed the bill.

Hamas said the draft law shows the ugly and fascist nature of "Israel", while the Islamic Jihad warned that the bill puts thousands of Palestinians at risk of execution.

The controversial bill, submitted by far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir's Jewish Power party, could have its first reading in the parliament as soon as Wednesday.

It stipulates that judges will be able to impose a death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing "Israelis" on "nationalistic grounds." It would not apply to an "Israeli" killing a Palestinian under similar circumstances.

The bill, first pushed by far-right "Israeli" parties before "Israel’s" genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, has resurfaced in recent months with renewed backing.

Addressing the Knesset’s committee earlier in the day, "Israel’s" coordinator for the captives and the missing, Gal Hirsch, said that he held a discussion with "Israeli" so-called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the debate, and both agreed on introducing the new law.

Hirsch previously opposed the bill over fears that it would hinder the release of "Israeli" captives held in Gaza. But now that all living captives have returned under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement, his opposition has become “redundant”, "Israeli" media said.