ISRAEL must immediately halt the legislation of the discriminatory death penalty bill, urges the rights group Amnesty International.
Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas responded to the passing of the first reading of a controversial new amendment to the Israeli Penal Law making it mandatory for Israeli courts to impose the death penalty against individuals convicted of killing an Israeli ‘either intentionally or recklessly’ if the act is motivated by ‘racism or hostility towards the public’ and ‘committed with the objective of harming the state of Israel or the rebirth of the Jewish people’.
Rosas said: ‘There is no sugarcoating this; a majority of 39 Israeli Knesset members approved in a first reading a bill that effectively mandates courts to impose the death penalty exclusively against Palestinians.
‘While the text of the bill does not specifically single out Palestinians, the mental element required for the offence concerned signals its primary victims are going to be Palestinians and would include those who committed the punishable offences before the law is passed.
‘Knesset members should be working to abolish the death penalty, not broadening its application. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment, and an irreversible denial of the right to life.
‘It should not be imposed in any circumstances, let alone weaponised as a blatantly discriminatory tool of state-sanctioned killing, domination and oppression.
‘Its mandatory imposition and retroactive application would violate clear prohibitions set out under international human rights law and standards on the use of this punishment.
‘The shift towards requiring courts to impose the death penalty against Palestinians is a dangerous and dramatic step backwards and a product of ongoing impunity for Israel’s system of apartheid and its genocide in Gaza.
‘It did not occur in a vacuum. It comes in the context of a drastic increase in the number of unlawful killings of Palestinians, including acts that amount to extrajudicial executions, over the last decade, and a horrific rise of deaths in custody of Palestinians since October 2023.
‘Not only have such acts been greeted with near-total impunity but with legitimacy and support and, at times, glorification.
‘It also comes amidst a climate of incitement to violence against Palestinians as evidenced by the surge in state-backed settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.
‘It is additionally concerning that the law authorises military courts to impose death sentences on civilians, that cannot be commuted, particularly given the unfair nature of the trials held by these courts which have a conviction rate of over 99% for Palestinian defendants.
‘On paper, Israeli law has traditionally restricted the use of the death penalty for exceptional crimes, like genocide and crimes against humanity, and the last court-ordered execution was carried out in 1962.
‘If approved, this bill will not only set Israel against the global trend towards abolishing the use of the death penalty, but also the stated goal of abolition enshrined in a key international treaty ratified by the country in 1991.
‘The bill’s stipulation that courts should impose the death penalty on individuals convicted of nationally-motivated murder with the intent of ‘harming the state of Israel or the rebirth of the Jewish people’ is yet another blatant manifestation of Israel’s institutionalised discrimination against Palestinians, a key pillar of Israel’s apartheid system, in law and in practice.
‘The international community must exert maximum pressure on the Israeli government to immediately scrap this bill and dismantle all laws and practices that contribute to the system of apartheid against Palestinians.
‘Israeli authorities must ensure Palestinian prisoners and detainees are treated in line with international law, including the prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment, and are provided with fair trial guarantees.
‘They must also take concrete steps towards abolishing the death penalty for all crimes and all people.’
The first reading of the bill passed by 39 votes to 16. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the crime, the guilt, innocence, or other characteristics of the individual, or the method used.
113 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, including seven since 2020.
The Knesset vote has sparked new levels of anxiety among the families of Palestinian prisoners, especially the leaders whom Israel refuses to release in any exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance.
Following the last prisoner exchange deal that took place last October between Israel and Hamas, more than 9,250 Palestinian prisoners remain captive in Israeli jails, including 49 women and 350 children.
Last October, Abbas al-Sayed’s family members were shocked to discover his name wasn’t on the list of those to be released in the prisoner exchange deal for the remaining living Israeli prisoners.
Now, they are even more appalled by the proposed law to execute Palestinian prisoners.
Abbas Al-Sayed from Tulkarm was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to 35 life sentences and another 100 years for allegedly planning to carry out bombings inside Israel.
He has been subjected to many abuses since his arrest, such as solitary confinement, torture, and being denied visits from his family or lawyers. His house was also blown up after his arrest.
His wife, Ikhlas, said that the exclusion of Palestinian prisoners from the recent deal was tantamount to ‘a death sentence’.
She emphasised that many Israeli laws threaten the lives of Palestinian prisoners, in addition to this latest proposal, including solitary confinement, severe food shortages, denial of medical treatment, and leaving them vulnerable to disease.
‘The prisoners are deprived of most of the necessities. My husband filed a complaint with the Israeli court and submitted a full lawsuit, all for the sake of requesting a pen and paper!’ she added.
‘Ben-Gvir stood before the handcuffed prisoners lying on the ground and said: ‘These people must die,’ and no one stood up to oppose him or hold him accountable.
‘He deprived them of food, medical treatment, and the rights they had gained over decades, and no one objected. It’s very easy for them to pass a law like the one to execute prisoners,’ Ikhlas said.
The families of the prisoners are demanding serious action from international human rights organisations and the entire free world.
The prisoners who left Israeli prisons were mere skeletons, yet this didn’t prompt any accountability from Israel.
‘Unfortunately, the international media has focused more on the Israeli prisoners and forgotten the suffering of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
‘We face severe restrictions from Israel if we take any action to demand the easing of the measures against them in the prisons,’ she concluded.
Ikhlas also fears the enactment of laws that restrict not only the prisoners but also their families, such as deportation and expulsion.
- Amnesty International has called on the Irish Football Association (IFA) in Northern Ireland to support moves to suspend the Israel Football Association from UEFA and FIFA competitions, following the Football Association of Ireland (FAI)’s landmark vote at the weekend to formally seek the suspension.
At its Extraordinary General Meeting, the FAI voted by an overwhelming majority to submit a motion to UEFA calling for the immediate suspension of the Israel FA, citing breaches of UEFA and FIFA statutes including the organisation of clubs in illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory and failure to implement an effective anti-racism policy.
Amnesty International has written to the IFA, providing direct and substantiated evidence of breaches of FIFA’s own rules.
In correspondence to Amnesty International last month, the IFA stated it ‘does not support the suspension of any member association unless there is a direct and substantiated breach of the governing bodies’ statutes’.
Amnesty’s latest letter sets out how the Israel FA permits football clubs operating in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to play in the Israeli leagues – a violation of FIFA statutes, which prohibit clubs from playing on the territory of another member’s association without approval from that association. The Palestinian FA has never granted such authorisation.
The letter also references findings from the International Court of Justice and UN human rights bodies confirming the illegality of Israel’s settlement activity and the obligation on states and organisations not to support it, as well as UK government policy which states ‘settlements are illegal under international law’.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director, said: ‘The FAI has taken a powerful and principled stand. The message is clear: Football cannot ignore serious and substantiated breaches of international law and its own governing rules.
‘The Irish FA must now follow suit – they can’t sit this one out. Silence is not a neutral position. The IFA can no longer claim to be waiting for evidence – that evidence has now been supplied.
‘The Israel FA permits settlement clubs in the occupied West Bank to play in Israeli leagues. This breaks FIFA’s own statutes and entrenches illegal settlements.
‘Football cannot preach fair play on the pitch while enabling human rights violations off it.
‘The IFA must demonstrate leadership and show that football stands for fairness, equality and respect.’