Condemnation of Israel Follows Enactment of Death Penalty Law for Palestinian Detainees
Israel’s parliament has approved a law authorising the death penalty for Palestinians proven to have murdered Israelis. The approval of the law has immediately drawn condemnation.
As summarised by detikcom on Wednesday (1/4/2026), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the chamber to vote ‘yes’ directly on the approval of the law. The law establishes the death penalty by hanging as the standard punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank who are proven to have committed murder.
The law also grants Israeli courts the authority to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on its own citizens. The punishment does not apply retroactively and will only apply to future cases.
According to Al-Jazeera, the move has been strongly condemned by Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups. They view the law as racist, cruel, and unlikely to prevent Palestinians from taking action against the occupation.
The law is expected to face legal challenges in Israel’s Supreme Court. A leading Israeli human rights group has announced that it has filed a petition with the country’s Supreme Court to oppose the law approved by parliament members.
“The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has filed a petition today with the Supreme Court, demanding the cancellation of the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, which was passed by the Knesset today, 30 March 2026,” the human rights group stated shortly after parliament members approved the bill, as reported by AFP.
The group stated there are two reasons to annul the law. First, they said, the Knesset or Israeli Parliament does not have the authority to make laws for the West Bank.
“Israel has no sovereignty there. Second, the law is unconstitutional. The law violates the right to life, human dignity, fair legal process, and equality—rights protected under the Basic Law (Israel): Human Dignity and Freedom,” it said.
Palestine Condemns Israel’s Latest Law
Palestine immediately strongly condemned Israel. According to Al-Jazeera, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry based in Ramallah stated that ‘Israel has no sovereignty over Palestinian land’.
“This law once again reveals the colonial nature of Israel, which seeks to legitimise extrajudicial killings under the guise of legislation,” the ministry said.
UN Urges Israel to Revoke Law
The United Nations (UN) has also strongly criticised Israel’s parliament’s approval of the new death penalty bill. The UN asserts that the rule is cruel and discriminatory and would constitute a war crime if applied in the occupied Palestinian territories.
As reported by AFP, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, said his side opposes the death penalty in all its aspects and in any country. He said Israel’s new rule is discriminatory and extremely cruel.
“The discriminatory nature of this specific law makes it extremely cruel and discriminatory, and we call on the Israeli government to revoke it and not implement it,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk has called for the law to be revoked immediately. He warned that the rule clearly does not comply with Israel’s international legal obligations.
“The death penalty is very difficult to reconcile with human dignity, and its discriminatory application would be an additional violation, particularly a grave violation of international law,” he said.
“Its application to the population of the occupied Palestinian territories would constitute a war crime,” he added.
The UN Human Rights Chief expressed concern over another bill currently being discussed in the Knesset aimed at establishing a special military court that exclusively tries crimes committed during and after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 inside Israel. That court would not have jurisdiction over crimes committed by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“I urge the Knesset to reject this bill,” Turk said, warning that ‘by focusing exclusively on crimes committed by Palestinians, it would institutionalise discriminatory and one-sided justice’.
Indonesia Urges Israel to Revoke Law
The Indonesian government has strongly condemned the approval of the death penalty law for Palestinian detainees by Israel’s parliament. Indonesia asserts that the rule contradicts the sense of justice.
“The Government of the Republic of Indonesia strongly condemns the Knesset’s approval of the law imposing the death penalty on Palestinian detainees. This policy is unacceptable and harms the sense of justice and universal humanitarian values,” reads the official statement from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s X account as viewed on Wednesday (1/4).
Indonesia said the death penalty law for Palestinian detainees approved by Israel’s parliament constitutes a violation of human rights. Indonesia urges Israel to respect the right to a fair trial.
“The law is a serious violation of human rights law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees the right to life and the right to a fair trial,” the Indonesian Foreign Ministry wrote.
Indonesia urges Israel to revoke the law. Israel is asked to ensure the right to life of Palestinians who are currently detainees in Israel.
“The Indonesian Government urges Israel to immediately revoke the law and halt all actions contrary to international law, and to ensure protection of the basic rights of the Palestinian people, including the detainees,” the Indonesian Foreign Ministry explained.
“Indonesia also calls on the international community,