UN Experts Call on Israel to Withdraw Mandatory Death Penalty Proposal

(MENAFN) UN human rights experts on Wednesday urged Israel to repeal a proposed bill that would introduce mandatory death sentences for certain terrorist acts, warning that it would breach international law and disproportionately affect Palestinians in the occupied territories.

"Mandatory death sentences are contrary to the right to life. By removing judicial and prosecutorial discretion, they prevent a court from considering the individual circumstances, including mitigating factors, and from imposing a proportionate sentence that fits the crime," the experts said.

The statement explained that the bill establishes two separate frameworks. In the occupied West Bank, military courts would hand down the death penalty for acts causing death, even if unintentional. In Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, it would apply solely to “intentional killing of Israeli citizens or residents.”

Experts cautioned that the bill’s broad and vague definitions of terrorism could criminalize actions “that is not genuinely terrorist” while making capital punishment mandatory. They added that “unintentional killings are not 'most serious’ crimes” under international law and highlighted that Israeli military trials “typically do not meet fair trial standards,” noting that “Denial of a fair trial is also a war crime.”

The proposal would permit death sentences by a simple majority of military judges, prevent pardons, limit access to legal counsel, and require executions by hanging within 90 days. The experts warned that “Hanging amounts to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment under international law.”

"We urge Israel to put an end to the death penalty, in line with the global trend towards abolition," they concluded.

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