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Hundreds of Palestinians have protested across the occupied West Bank to denounce the passage of an Israeli law\u00a0approving the use of the death penalty against Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.<\/p>\n
The demonstrations on Tuesday were staged in several cities \u2013 including Ramallah, Tubas, Nablus and Jenin in the north and Hebron in the south \u2013 after calls by prisoner advocacy groups.<\/p>\n
The 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 el-Bireh.<\/p>\n
Participants displayed photographs of dozens of prisoners who have died in custody over the decades, Wafa added.<\/p>\n\n\nPalestinians protest outside the Red Cross offices in Ramallah in the West Bank on March 31, 2026 [AFP]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The protest drew a broad crowd, including families of prisoners, senior members of the Fatah party, civil society organisations, trade unions and women\u2019s groups.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Knesset passed the death penalty legislation<\/span> on Monday evening in a 62-48 vote.<\/p>\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in support of the law.<\/p>\n
European condemnation<\/h2>\n Human rights organisations and Palestinian officials have denounced<\/span> Israel\u2019s approval of the legislation allowing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks, arguing that it breaches international law and is fundamentally discriminatory because it does not apply equally to Israeli convicts.<\/p>\nThe human rights group Amnesty International called on Israeli authorities to repeal the law, which it described as \u201ca public display of cruelty, discrimination and utter contempt for human rights\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, we have seen an alarming pattern of apparent extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings of Palestinians \u2013 with the perpetrators also enjoying near-total impunity,\u201d Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty\u2019s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis new law which allows for state-sanctioned executions is a culmination of such policies.\u201d<\/p>\n
A European Union spokesperson said passage of the legislation is \u201cvery \u2060concerning\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on Israel to abide by its previous principled position, its obligation under international law and its commitment \u2060to democratic principles,\u201d he \u2060said.<\/p>\n
Germany said it could \u201cnot endorse\u201d the new law. \u201cThe German government views the law passed yesterday with great concern,\u201d government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental principle of German policy,\u201d he said, also warning that \u201csuch a law would likely apply exclusively to Palestinians in the Palestinian territories\u201d.<\/p>\n
Under the law, executions would be carried out by hanging by prison guards appointed by the Israeli Prison Service. Those involved would have anonymity and legal immunity.<\/p>\n
The legislation also mandates transferring the Palestinians sentenced to death to special detention facilities and restricting their visitors to authorised parties. Meetings with lawyers would be limited to video communications.<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of its genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023, Israel has intensified measures against Palestinian prisoners. The conflict has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded 172,000, most of them women and children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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