\n<\/p>\n
A new Israeli law that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks, but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes, would constitute a war crime if enacted, according to one of the UN\u2019s most senior human rights officials.<\/p>\n
Speaking amid mounting international condemnation of the bill, the UN\u2019s high commissioner for human rights, Volker T\u00fcrk, described the law as \u201cpatently inconsistent with Israel\u2019s international law obligations, including in relation to the right to life\u201d. He added that it \u201craises serious concerns about due process violations, is deeply discriminatory, and must be promptly repealed\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts application in a discriminatory manner would constitute an additional, particularly egregious violation of international law. Its application to residents of the occupied Palestinian territory would constitute a war crime,\u201d T\u00fcrk said.<\/p>\n
The legislation, passed on Monday by the Israeli Knesset, has faced a wave of criticism, including from European leaders and human rights groups.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Israel passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians – The Latest<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe death penalty bill in Israel is very concerning to us in the EU,\u201d the EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said in Brussels. \u201cThis is a clear step backwards \u2013 the introduction of the death penalty, together with the discriminatory nature of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spanish prime minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, wrote on X: \u201cIt is an asymmetric measure that would not apply to Israelis who committed the same crimes. Same crime, different punishment. That is not justice. It is a step closer to apartheid.\u201d<\/p>\n Germany, traditionally one of Israel\u2019s closest allies in Europe, said it could not endorse the law. \u201cThe German government views the law passed yesterday with great concern,\u201d the government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental principle of German policy,\u201d Kornelius said, adding: \u201cSuch a law would likely apply exclusively to Palestinians in the Palestinian territories.\u201d<\/p>\n The legislation makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism by a military court.<\/p>\n According to the bill, those sentenced to death would be held in a separate facility with no visits except from authorised personnel, and legal consultations conducted only by video link. Executions would be carried out within 90 days of sentencing.<\/p>\n Israel has rarely used the death penalty, applying it only in exceptional cases. The Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was the last person to be executed, in 1962.<\/p>\n The national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the bill\u2019s strongest backers, has repeatedly worn a noose-shaped lapel pin, symbolising executions under the proposal.<\/p>\n A security committee made some amendments to the bill, which last week passed its first vote. Israel\u2019s public broadcaster, KAN, reported that executions would be carried out by hanging.<\/p>\n The measure would allow courts to impose the death penalty without a request from prosecutors and without requiring unanimity, instead permitting a simple majority decision. Military courts in the occupied West Bank would also be empowered to hand down death sentences, with the defence minister able to submit an opinion.<\/p>\n Adam Coogle, the deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, said: \u201cIsraeli officials argue that imposing the death penalty is about security, but in reality it entrenches discrimination and a two-tiered system of justice, both hallmarks of apartheid.<\/p>\n \u201cThe death penalty is irreversible and cruel. Combined with its severe restrictions on appeals and its 90-day execution timeline, this bill aims to kill Palestinian detainees faster and with less scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n Shaista Aziz, Oxfam\u2019s campaign engagement lead, said: \u201cThis bill is another horrifying act of violence. Israel is violating international law. This new law effectively ensures that the death penalty in Israel will apply only to Palestinians, even as the illegal Israeli occupation has lately seen a surge in the coordinated attacks and executions of Palestinians by settler militias and military.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael holds more than 9,000 Palestinians in its jails \u2013 many unlawfully and subject to inhumane conditions, starvation and torture as state policy.\u201d<\/p>\n In Israel, the law is already facing legal challenges. Several Israeli human rights groups and three members of parliament filed petitions to the supreme court seeking to overturn it.<\/p>\n The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said the law created \u201ctwo parallel tracks, both designed to apply to Palestinians\u201d and should be struck down on constitutional grounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A new Israeli law that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks, but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes, would constitute a war crime if enacted, according to one of the UN\u2019s most senior human rights officials. Speaking amid mounting international condemnation of the bill, the UN\u2019s high<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[689,2173,376,24062,214,2313,175,4749,702,261],"class_list":{"0":"post-47699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-chief","9":"tag-crime","10":"tag-death","11":"tag-discriminatory","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-israeli","14":"tag-law","15":"tag-penalty","16":"tag-rights","17":"tag-war"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}