Council of Europe Condemns Israel's Death Penalty Law for Palestinians

(MENAFN) The Council of Europe has voiced sharp condemnation of newly passed Israeli legislation that expands the application of the death penalty to Palestinian prisoners, warning the law signals a grave retreat from internationally recognized human rights standards.

In a written statement issued Monday, the pan-European rights body said Secretary General Alain Berset had expressed deep concern following the Knesset's adoption of the law on March 30, 2026 — a move that came, the statement stressed, "despite repeated calls to the Israeli authorities, notably by the Council of Europe, to renounce it."

The statement did not mince words in its assessment of the legislation's broader implications.

"The entry into force of this law would mark a further distancing of Israel from the framework of values with which it has historically chosen to associate itself," it noted, characterizing the move as a "serious regression."

"The death penalty is a legal anachronism incompatible with contemporary human-rights standards. Moreover, any application of the death penalty that could be characterized as discriminatory is unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law," the Council of Europe further underscored.

The body reiterated its blanket opposition to capital punishment, stressing that the death penalty is "incompatible" with fundamental rights and human dignity "in all places and under all circumstances."

"The Council of Europe will closely monitor upcoming developments regarding this law. It will examine its implications for the Council of Europe conventions to which Israel is a party, as well as for the cooperation mechanisms in which this state participates," the statement added.

Earlier Monday, the Knesset formally passed the legislation, enshrining the death penalty as the default sentence for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of carrying out lethal attacks against Israelis.

The law's passage comes amid a deeply alarming backdrop for Palestinian detainees. More than 9,300 Palestinians — among them 350 children and 66 women — are currently held in Israeli detention facilities, according to data compiled by prisoners' rights organizations and the Israeli Prison Service. Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups allege that detainees are subjected to torture, starvation, and denial of adequate medical care, conditions they say have already contributed to dozens of deaths in custody.

The developments unfold against the wider context of Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, backed by Washington, which has killed more than 72,000 people and wounded 172,000 others since October 2023 — a campaign that multiple international bodies have moved to characterize as genocidal in nature.

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