Israel’s efforts to counter claims that it is an apartheid state became more difficult this week after it passed a new law making the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.
While far-right supporters in the Israeli government celebrated the passing of the controversial new bill, international allies and human rights organisations widely condemned the move, which effectively creates a separate and harsher legal system for Palestinians.
Sixty-two lawmakers, including Benjamin Netanyahu, voted in favour of the bill, while 48 voted against it.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir championed the legislation. “We made history!!! We promised. We delivered,” he posted on X after the vote.
Under the new legislation, Palestinians in the West Bank convicted by Israeli military courts of attacks classified as “terrorism” will automatically face the death penalty.
While the law could, in theory, apply to Jewish Israelis, in practice, it is expected to overwhelmingly target Palestinians, who are almost exclusively tried in these courts.
Protests erupted across the occupied West Bank, with hundreds marching in Ramallah against the law, which is backed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Shops, universities and public institutions in cities including Hebron, Nablus and East Jerusalem shut down in protest, although reports indicated Israeli forces compelled some businesses to reopen.
“Violation of international law”
The legislation has drawn sharp international criticism. Countries including Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE warned the move could destabilise the region.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the law as a “particularly egregious violation of international law”, warning that applying it in the occupied Palestinian territories “would constitute a war crime.”
Several European nations — including Australia, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom — also raised concerns over what they called the law’s “de facto discriminatory character”, while Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said it marked “another step toward apartheid”.
Meanwhile, activists from the Red Ribbons Campaign have called for global mobilisation in support of Palestinian prisoners on 16–18 April.
Mustafa Barghouti, a supporter of the campaign, said: ““When the judiciary legalises killing and doctors volunteer to carry out executions, we are facing a fully-fledged war crime committed in cold blood against thousands of Palestinian hostages,”
“ It is the silence of the international community that has given the green light to this brutality. We are not only demanding freedom, we are calling on the world to stop the execution guillotine erected by a false ‘democracy’ to kill the finest of our people.”
Human rights groups note that more than 9,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including hundreds of children and dozens of women, with ongoing allegations of abuse, medical neglect and deaths in custody.
