Hundreds of people took to the streets of West Bank cities on Tuesday to protest against a law allowing the death penalty by hanging in Israel for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis. It was reported by the AP agency.
- The Israeli parliament passed a law allowing the death penalty by hanging for Palestinians.
- After the law was approved, mass Palestinian protests broke out in the West Bank.
- The Fatah movement has declared a strike emergency and Palestinian leaders are calling for international intervention.
The law was approved by the Israeli parliament on Monday evening. Deputies greeted his reception with applause and shouts of joy. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who presented the bill, called the new legislation long-awaited and a sign of strength and national pride.
Palestinian reaction
In response to the law, the Fatah political party declared a general strike emergency for the northern part of the West Bank on Wednesday. Palestinian officials issued a statement saying the death penalty law violates international law and called for a decisive response from the international community.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requests to impose sanctions on the Israeli parliament and to suspend its activities in international organizations.
Kritika Amnesty International
The human rights organization Amnesty International warned that the application of the death penalty according to the new Israeli legislation may violate the right to life and the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, which are enshrined in international law.
In Gaza City, dozens of people took part in a protest in front of the headquarters of the humanitarian organization Red Cross on Tuesday. There, women dressed in hijabs held large photographs of well-known Palestinian prisoners, such as former Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving several life sentences in an Israeli prison.
The future of law
The death penalty law passed by Israel’s parliament is due to take effect in 30 days, but its implementation may be blocked by a Supreme Court verdict in the ongoing case.
The new law will not be retroactive and will not apply to current prisoners. Nevertheless, it represents a significant tightening of Israel’s criminal policy, which has raised concerns among protesters about the fate of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons – considered symbols of national resistance.
The given legislation also applies to Israeli courts and gives them the possibility to impose the death penalty even on Israeli citizens convicted of nationalistically motivated murder. According to legal experts, however, the wording of the law in practice means that in practice only Palestinian citizens of Israel can receive the death penalty, but not Israelis of Jewish origin.
