UN affirms rejection of Israeli law to execute Palestinian prisoners

NEW YORK, April 01 (YPA) – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Tuesday that implementing a law allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners would constitute a war crime.

In a statement, Türk said that implementing this “discriminatory law would constitute an additional and very serious violation of international law, and applying it to residents of the occupied Palestinian territories would amount to a war crime.”

He stressed that the law “clearly contradicts Israel’s obligations under international law, particularly regarding the right to life. It raises serious concerns about respect for defense rights, involves severe discrimination, and must be repealed without delay.”

Earlier, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that the Knesset has approved legislation introducing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli parliament passed the bill last Monday, according to Israeli media reports.

The legislation targets Palestinian prisoners convicted of carrying out operations against Israelis, allowing courts to issue death sentences under specific circumstances.

@E.Y.M