Final Approval of Israeli Knesset Law on Executing Palestinian Prisoners Marks a Dangerous Escalation Toward Legalizing Genocide and Institutionalizing Field Execution
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns the final approval by the Israeli Knesset in its second and third readings, of the law permitting the execution of Palestinian prisoners. The Ministry categorically rejects this legislation and considers it a grave and dangerous escalation in the policies of the occupying power.
The Ministry affirms that this law represents a critical turning point in the formalization of extrajudicial killings under a legal guise. It once again exposes the true nature of Israel’s colonial system, which seeks to legitimize unlawful killing through legislative cover. This step places the occupying government and its instruments in direct confrontation with international law, its principles, values, and norms, as well as the entire system of international justice, and puts the world to a serious test of its credibility.
The Ministry affirms that Israel’s judicial system and its legislative institutions are nothing more than tools used to entrench occupation, enable crimes against the Palestinian people, and ensure impunity for Israeli war criminals. The Ministry stresses that this law, in its essence, constitutes an institutionalized policy of field executions based on discriminatory and racist standards. It reflects clear intentions to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, adding to the ongoing crimes in Gaza Strip in extending across the West Bank including East Jerusalem. The Ministry warns of its direct and dangerous repercussions on arbitrarily detained Palestinian prisoners.
The Ministry considers this law an official declaration adopting killing as a politicized tool within the system of occupation, and a form of collective punishment against the Palestinian people.
The Ministry calls on the international community to take immediate and decisive action. It is time to reconsider relations with the Israeli Knesset, impose sanctions on it and its members, and suspend its membership in international parliamentary bodies, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The Ministry further urges all states, as well as international justice institutions, to act urgently and effectively to activate accountability mechanisms, impose sanctions on Israel, and hold those responsible for this legislation accountable. It also calls for the boycott of this institution that seeks to legitimize racism and killing, and for immediate measures to ensure the protection of Palestinian prisoners and guarantee their rights in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The Ministry stresses that urgent and sustained legal and diplomatic efforts must be intensified to pressure the occupying government and prevent the transformation of execution into a discriminatory and politicized tool targeting Palestinian prisoners.