Palestinian officials warn of bloodier stage in occupation prisons
BEIRUT, May 13 (YPA) – Freed Palestinian prisoner Nael Barghouti warned of the dangerous consequences of new Israeli occupation legislation related to Palestinian prisoners, including laws expanding the use of the death penalty and establishing special judicial procedures for detainees arrested after October 7, 2023.
In statements cited by Sanad Agency, Barghouti said the new measures effectively legalize the killing of prisoners inside occupation’s detention facilities and reflect an escalation in the broader conflict targeting Palestinians.
He argued that the legislation reveals the nature of the Israeli occupation as hostile to humanitarian principles and warned that the approval of execution laws could lead to a more violent phase inside the prisons.
Barghouti said the recently approved laws, including death penalty provisions and exceptional court procedures, pose a direct threat to Palestinian detainees in the absence of sufficient legal and humanitarian protections. He called for urgent public, official, and human rights action to confront these policies.
On May 11, the Israeli Knesset approved in its second and third readings a draft law concerning the trial of detainees linked to the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. The legislation allows the establishment of special judicial tracks for Palestinians accused by the occupation’s authorities of involvement in the October 7 operation known as “Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Under the new law, the occupation’s courts are granted expanded authority to impose maximum penalties, including the death sentence, while also preventing the release of detainees covered by the legislation in any future prisoner exchange agreements. The move has prompted growing concern among human rights groups over an unprecedented escalation against Palestinian prisoners.
Human rights organizations specializing in prisoners’ affairs say the legislation forms part of a broader Israeli legal approach aimed at stripping Palestinian detainees of legal protections, particularly those arrested in Gaza after October 7, by classifying them as “illegal combatants” outside the protections of the Geneva Conventions.
The developments follow the approval of a separate law on March 30, 2026, authorizing the execution of Palestinian prisoners convicted of carrying out attacks against the occupation forces, amid rising calls from Israeli right-wing figures for harsher punitive measures since the start of the Gaza war.
The legislation also coincides with expanded use of the “illegal combatant” law, which permits prolonged detention without formal charges or fair trials. Israeli authorities have used the measure against hundreds of detainees from Gaza, while human rights reports have documented allegations of torture, enforced disappearance, and denial of access to lawyers and family members.
Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups say the laws institutionalize policies targeting Palestinians and deepen what they describe as systematic violations of their national and human rights both inside and outside Israeli prisons.
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