UN Rights Committee Warns Israel’s Death Penalty Law Discriminates Against Palestinians

(MENAFN) A United Nations committee has said that Israel’s recently adopted death penalty legislation amounts to racial discrimination against Palestinians and represents a serious deterioration in human rights protections, according to reports.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern over the law, calling for its immediate repeal and warning that it raises serious legal and human rights issues.

The committee stated that the legislation applies in practice only to Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while explicitly excluding Israeli citizens and residents from its scope. It also noted that military and civilian courts under the system in question have jurisdiction over Palestinians in those areas.

According to the committee’s assessment, the law removes the possibility of sentence reduction, pardon, or commutation, and establishes a strict timeline requiring executions to be carried out within 90 days after a final ruling.

It further urged that all Palestinian detainees be guaranteed equal legal protection, including safeguards against violence, access to justice, and fair treatment under the law. The committee also called for an end to policies it described as discriminatory or segregating in nature.

In addition, it appealed to all states party to relevant international conventions to ensure that their resources are not used in ways that support or facilitate discriminatory practices in the occupied territories.

The legislation in question was passed by Israel’s parliament in late March and reportedly establishes the death penalty as the default sentence for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of fatal attacks against Israelis. According to the law’s provisions, executions would be carried out by prison authorities, with personnel involved granted anonymity and legal protections.

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