Israel’s Death Penalty Law Draws International Condemnation On March 30, 2026, Israeli lawmakers passed the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law by a vote of 62 to 48, mandating death by hanging for offenses classified as “terrorism-related” and applying exclusively to Palestinians. The law requires sentences to be carried out within 90 days of a final ruling. United Nations experts have warned that the law violates international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Israel ratified in 1991. They stated that mandatory death sentences are inherently arbitrary and prohibited under international law, which requires that death sentences be reserved for the most serious offenses, follow fair proceedings, and allow for pardon or commutation. The UN experts noted that the law fails on all three counts and conveys that Palestinian lives are less worthy of legal protection. On April 2, 2026, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights declared that Israel’s new law effectively provides for the death penalty solely against Palestinians and constitutes a discriminatory regime of capital punishment. Human Rights Watch reported on March 31, 2026, that the Israeli Knesset passed a discriminatory bill expanding the use of the death penalty for terrorism-related offenses. The European Parliament issued a question for written answer on April 3, 2026, describing the law as authorizing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of committing terrorist attacks by military tribunals, including those held in administrative detention without charge. The document characterized the law as representing a new escalation in Israel’s criminal policy perpetuating the genocide against Palestinians. Several countries and international groups have condemned the law. On April 2, 2026, a group of eight Muslim-majority countries issued a joint statement strongly condemning the passage of the law and other increasingly discriminatory, escalating Israeli practices that entrench a system of apartheid.
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