UN condemns Israeli death penalty law for Palestinians as ‘particularly cruel’

The United Nations on Tuesday strongly opposed a new Israeli law allowing the death penalty for Palestinians, calling it “particularly cruel and discriminatory,” Anadolu reports.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a news conference that the UN and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have a “very clear” stance on Israel’s legislation imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners.

“We stand against the death penalty in all its forms,” he said, adding that “the nature of this particular law makes it particularly cruel and discriminatory.”

He also called on the Israeli government to rescind the law and not implement it.

READ: Israeli Knesset passes law mandating death penalty for Palestinian prisoners

Israel’s Knesset passed the law Monday, making the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of lethal attacks against Israelis.

More than 9,300 Palestinians, including 350 children and 66 women, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to prisoner rights groups and the Israeli Prison Service.

Reports indicate prisoners suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, leading to dozens of deaths.

Since October 2023, Israel has intensified measures against Palestinian prisoners amid its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 72,000 people and injured 172,000, according to local authorities.

READ: Al-Azhar urges halt to Israeli measures to legalise killing of Palestinians