Civil society and unions join families in protests as EU voices ‘concern’ about Israel’s law targeting Palestinian prisoners.
Hundreds of Palestinians have protested in the occupied West Bank to condemn the passage of an Israeli law sanctioning the use of the death penalty against Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.
Demonstrations followed calls from prisoner advocacy groups on Tuesday in several cities, including Ramallah, Tubas, Nablus and Jenin in the north and Hebron in the south.
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Palestinian news agency Wafa said Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups and national factions staged a sit-in in the courtyard of the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in al-Bireh.
Participants displayed photos of dozens of prisoners who have died in custody over the decades, Wafa said.
The protest drew a wide crowd, including families of prisoners, senior members of the Fatah party, civil society organisations, trade unions and women’s groups.
More than 9,500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children and 73 women. Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups say detainees face torture, starvation and medical neglect, leading to dozens of deaths.
Israel’s Knesset passed the death penalty law on Monday evening by a vote of 62-48.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in support of the law.
european condemnation
Human rights organizations and Palestinian officials have condemned Israel’s approval of a law allowing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks, arguing that it violates international law and is fundamentally discriminatory because it does not apply equally to Israeli convicts.
Human rights group Amnesty International called on Israeli authorities to repeal the law, which it described as “a public display of cruelty, discrimination and blatant disregard for human rights.”
“For years, we have seen an alarming pattern of apparent extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings of Palestinians – with the perpetrators also enjoying almost complete impunity,” Erica Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said in a statement.
“This new law that allows state-sanctioned executions is the culmination of such policies.”
An EU spokesperson said the passage of the law was “very worrying”.
“We call on Israel to adhere to its previous principled position, its obligations under international law, and its commitment to democratic principles,” he said.
Germany said it “cannot support” the new law. “The German government views the law passed yesterday with great concern,” government spokesman Stefan Cornelius said in a statement.
“Rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental principle of German policy,” he said, while also warning that “such a law would likely apply exclusively to Palestinians in the Palestinian territories”.
Under the law, executions will be carried out by prison guards employed by the Israeli prison service. Those involved will get anonymity and legal immunity.
The law also orders the transfer of Palestinians sentenced to death to special detention facilities and limits their visitors to authorized parties. Meetings with lawyers will be limited to video communication.
Since the beginning of the genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023, Israel has intensified measures against Palestinian prisoners. More than 72,000 Palestinians were killed and 172,000 injured in the conflict, the majority of whom were women and children.
