Israel Passes Death Penalty Law Sparking Apartheid, War Crime Accusations
Israel's Knesset has passed a controversial law mandating the death penalty for individuals convicted of lethal attacks motivated by the intent to 'negate the existence of the State of Israel.' While the law's text is technically applicable to all citizens, critics from human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, and analysts argue it is designed to specifically target Palestinians, as Jewish Israelis are highly unlikely to be prosecuted under its provisions. The legislation, which mandates execution by hanging and restricts legal counsel and family visits for the condemned, was a key policy goal of far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who hailed it as a vital deterrent. The law has ignited a fierce international outcry. The UN human rights chief condemned it as a 'war crime,' while the European Union expressed deep concern, with a spokesperson stating the bill is 'very concerning to us in the EU.' The Palestinian Authority denounced the measure as a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a 'war crime' against Palestinians, asserting it will not deter their 'legitimate struggle for freedom.' Critics, including Israeli rights organizations cited by Al Jazeera, contend the law is the latest measure normalizing an 'apartheid' legal system, codifying a two-tier structure where Palestinians face harsher justice. This is contrasted with the Guardian's analysis that Israel has not prosecuted any of its citizens for killing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of the decade. The passage has thus deepened the rift between the Israeli far-right's celebration and a global coalition of critics who view the law as fundamentally discriminatory and a violation of international humanitarian norms.
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Sources
‘This is an apartheid regime’: Critics decry Israel’s new death penalty law | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera
According to Israeli rights groups and analysts, the introduction of a death penalty targeting people by their ethnicity is just the latest iteration in a long line of legal measures described as having normalised an “apartheid” legal system under which Palestinians are subject to codified ...
In theory, Jewish Israelis could also be executed under the law - but in practice this almost certainly would not happen, as the death penalty could only be carried out where the intention of the attack was to "negate the existence of the state of Israel".
‘Discriminatory’ Israeli death penalty law would be war crime, says UN rights chief | Israel | The Guardian
The legislation, passed on Monday by the Israeli Knesset, has faced a wave of criticism, including from European leaders and human rights groups. ... “The death penalty bill in Israel is very concerning to us in the EU,” the EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said in Brussels.
Within the civil court system in Israel, the bill imposes the death penalty for the deliberate killing of a person with the intention of “negating the existence of the State of Israel.” It mandates execution by hanging, restricts access to legal counsel and visits from family members, limits ...
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! JERUSALEM: Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, on Monday passed a law mandating the death penalty for Palestinian terrorists convicted of deadly acts of terrorism, sparking anger from European countries and an Israeli opposition leader.
What’s Israel’s death penalty law that only applies to Palestinians? | Occupied West Bank News | Al Jazeera
According to an analysis by the UK’s Guardian newspaper in late March, Israel has yet to prosecute any of its citizens for killing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of this decade. Under the new legislation, Israel’s civilian courts are granted an extra degree of leniency in sentencing Israelis found guilty of killing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with judges having the option to choose between the death penalty ...
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ... law and will not deter Palestinians' legitimate struggle for freedom. Israeli far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has long fought for the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, which he says is a vital deterrent. ... ITAMAR BEN-GVIR: (Non-English language spoken). KAHN: "From today, every terrorist in the whole ...
Israeli death penalty law targeting Palestinians sparks global outcry as far right celebrates
“Soon we will count them one ... every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever takes a life, the state of Israel will take their life.” ... Matt Bradley is an international correspondent for NBC News based in Israel....
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