UN urges “Israel” to drop death penalty bill targeting Palestinians

NEW YORK, Jan. 03 (YPA) – UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, has called on the Israeli authorities to abandon a new bill that would impose the death penalty on Palestinian detainees under certain conditions, whether in the occupied Palestinian territories or inside Israel.

In a statement published late Friday, Türk urged Israeli authorities to drop plans to propose new legislation that would introduce mandatory death sentences applied exclusively to Palestinians.

He warned that “Israel” is “challenging international law on multiple levels.”

Türk added that the drafting of such legislation, along with statements by Israeli politicians, indicates that the intention is for it to apply only to Palestinians, who are often convicted following unfair trials.

He stressed that this raises serious concerns regarding discrimination against Palestinians and violations of their right to a fair trial, in addition to other breaches of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

The human rights Chief said that these proposals also violate international humanitarian law standards related to criminal procedures and the imposition of the death penalty on the population of an occupied territory.

He noted that the United Nations clearly opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, as it is “difficult to reconcile with human dignity and carries the risk of executing innocent people, which is unacceptable.”

Türk emphasized that the Israeli proposals to introduce mandatory death sentences violate the right to life.

@E.Y.M