Amnesty International Urges Global Pressure on Israel to Revoke Death Penalty for Palestinians

DID Press: The Israeli parliament, by a majority of 62 votes, has passed an amendment expanding the application of the death penalty, including within military judicial systems in the occupied West Bank. The law, titled “Execution of Terrorists,” removes key safeguards of fair trial and eliminates the possibility of sentence reduction or pardon.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research and Policy at Amnesty International, stated: “This law represents the apex of state-sanctioned death policies, effectively granting Israel the authority to execute Palestinians.”

The amendment establishes two legal frameworks: one for military courts in the West Bank, which have a conviction rate exceeding 99% for Palestinians, and another for civil courts in Israel and occupied Jerusalem, allowing the death penalty for individuals who commit murder “with the intent of negating Israel’s existence.”

Guevara-Rosas emphasized: “Executing Palestinians under this law is a blatant violation of the right to life and, in some cases, may constitute war crimes.”

Amnesty International has called on the international community to exert maximum pressure on Israel to repeal this law and abolish the death penalty.