Drop draft proposals on the death penalty for Palestinians, the UN rights chief urges Israel

High Commissioner Volker Turk said the series of draft proposals before the Israeli Knesset raises serious concerns about discrimination, due process violations, and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

“When it comes to the death penalty, the United Nations is very clear and is against it under all circumstances“It is extremely difficult to reconcile such a punishment with human dignity and entails the unacceptable risk of innocent people being executed.”

The proposals would lower the threshold for applying the death penalty and introduce mandatory death sentences that leave the courts without any discretion, a move Mr. Türk says violates Israel’s right to life and violates Israel’s obligations under the law. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“The proposal also raises other human rights concerns, including being discriminatory as it will only apply to Palestinians”, he added.

According to the UN rights chief, the language of the proposed legislation, as well as statements from Israeli politicians, indicate that it is intended to apply only to Palestinians, who are often convicted after unfair trials.

Proposed changes

The proposed changes would amend the military law that governs the occupied West Bank. require military courts to impose mandatory death sentences for all convictions for intentional murder on the territory.

It would also amend Israeli criminal law to introduce the death penalty for deliberately killing Israelis in an act of terror.

This would result in the death penalty being applied retroactively to those convicted of murders linked to the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, contrary to the principle of legality enshrined in international law.

More than 1,200 Israeli citizens and those of other countries were killed and more than 250 taken hostage on October 7, 2023, by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups when they stormed communities near Gaza in southern Israel.

The subsequent Israeli military offensive reportedly killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and injured many more.

The October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in place, allowing for increased aid, but medical services are inadequate and the peace plan remains stalled.