Calling Urgent Attention to Proposals for the Death Penalty in Israel
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) is alarmed by the content of two bills that are presently before Israel’s Knesset, in which it is proposed to expand the scope of the death penalty for terrorism offences, and permit resort to the death penalty in ad hoc military courts for trials related to the attacks of 7 October 2023. In effect, these bills are intended to expose Palestinians to the death penalty. We express the utmost concern in relation to these measures, and we call for their withdrawal. The WCADP reiterates our unequivocal opposition to the death penalty, in all circumstances, for all people, without exception.
Israel has not carried out judicial executions for more than sixty years. In fact, Israel is an enduring co-sponsor of United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, in which it is expressly acknowledged that ‘a moratorium on the use of the death penalty contributes to respect for human dignity and to the enhancement and progressive development of human rights.’
Having voluntarily taken up the option to co-sponsor the resolution on every occasion, 2007-2024, Israel has unambiguously demonstrated that restraint from resort to the death penalty is a principle of national, and international importance. In this context, Israel has welcomed ‘the considerable movement towards the abolition of the death penalty globally and the fact that many States with different legal systems, traditions, cultures and religious backgrounds are applying a moratorium, including longstanding moratoriums, either in law or in practice, on the use of the death penalty.’
This assessment, limited to the death penalty in its strict legal sense, cannot be separated from a broader context marked by the acceleration of annexation and settlement policies, widespread violations of the right to life, the generalized practice of torture and ill-treatment against Palestinian prisoners, and the increasing number of Palestinians who are victims of extrajudicial executions carried out by the Israeli military and settlers.
The WCADP notes that Israel has also, inter alia, welcomed ‘initiatives and political leadership encouraging national discussions and debates on the possibility of moving away from capital punishment through domestic decision- making’. The current proposals before the National Security Committee, and the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee, are directly at odds with Israel’s consistent stance on this issue. We fully expect Israel to refrain from adopting any legislation that expands the scope of the death penalty.
Additionally, the discriminatory nature of the proposals before the Knesset is a matter of grave concern. The proposed amendments to the military laws would prescribe the death penalty for offences carried out by residents of the area, with explicit exclusion of “ Israeli citizens or residents.” Effectively, this amendment applies only to Palestinian civilians as they are the only people tried in military courts, while Israeli citizens are not subject to military jurisdiction and are tried in civilian courts. The other amendment, modifying Israel’s penal law, applies to those accused of intentionally causing “the death of a person with the purpose of harming an Israeli citizen or resident”, thereby establishing a discriminatory distinction based on the identity of the victim. This, for example, excludes instances in which Israeli citizens kill Palestinian residents of the occupied territory, even where the conduct might otherwise meet the legal threshold for terrorist acts.
Furthermore, the proposed ad hoc mechanisms for trials concerning the events of 7 October could only foreseeably apply to Palestinian accused. Overall, these constitute, add to ongoing discrimination against Palestinians, and should be read in the context of public narratives that seek to dehumanize Palestinians.
It is also starkly apparent that many features of the legislation under review fail to satisfy basic requirements of the right to life, and minimum fair trial guarantees. The proceedings that are envisaged have included provisions for mandatory death sentences, the prohibition of applications for clemency or pardon, restricted access to those on death row, limitations on information concerning the implementation of the death penalty, and even a requirement for executions to be carried out no longer than 90 days after the original sentence has been imposed. A group of UN Special Rapporteurs, including the UN Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, have characterised the proposed legislation as ‘a deeply regressive step’, bearing in mind that significant due process, and fair trial violations must not result in the arbitrary deprivation of life.
The WCADP strongly emphasises that provisions to expand the scope of the death penalty in Israel, in any manner, are fundamentally flawed. The adoption of these amendments would further reinforce a body of laws, policies, practices and public discourse that has enabled the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian population in the occupied Gaza Strip and perpetuates its system of apartheid against all Palestinians. The death penalty irreconcilably undermines human dignity, exposes all legal systems to irreversible miscarriages of justice, has inherently disproportionate and discriminatory effects, and perpetuates cycles of violence. Any death sentence imposed under these legislative amendments would constitute a violation of the right to life and, if handed down by a military court, could also amount to a war crime. Adopting new measures for the death penalty, of any kind, would be a manifestly retrograde action by the Knesset, and one that the WCADP calls for Israel to immediately, and unreservedly resile from.
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty is the peak body for anti-death penalty advocacy worldwide, being an alliance of more than 190 member organisations, many of whom are representative networks of national, regional, and international human rights groups. The World Coalition acts to reinforce the international dimension of the movement to abolish the death penalty, with a view to realising the universal eradication, and prohibition of this punishment in the immediate future. The World Coalition is wholly committed to amplifying the core principles of the abolitionist movement, and the experience of our global membership.
For more information: www.worldcoalition.org
Israel: UN experts urge withdrawal of death penalty bill
04 February 2026
GENEVA - UN experts* today urged Israel to withdraw a bill proposing the mandatory death penalty for terrorist acts, which would violate the right to life and discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“Mandatory death sentences are contrary to the right to life. By removing judicial and prosecutorial discretion, they prevent a court from considering the individual circumstances, including mitigating factors, and from imposing a proportionate sentence that fits the crime,” the experts said.
The Bill would introduce two tracks for the death penalty. In the occupied West Bank, the death penalty would be imposed by military courts under military law for terrorist acts causing the death of a person, even if not intended. In Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, the death penalty would apply under Israeli criminal law but only for the “intentional killing of Israeli citizens or residents”.
Under both tracks, vague and overbroad definitions of terrorist offenses under Israeli law would apply, which can include conduct that is not genuinely terrorist, and the death penalty would be mandatory.
The experts warned that unintentional killings are not ‘most serious’ crimes to which the death penalty can be applied under international law, thus violating the right to life. “Since Israeli military trials of civilians typically do not meet fair trial standards under international human rights law and humanitarian law, any resulting death sentence would further violate the right to life,” they said. “Denial of a fair trial is also a war crime.”
“The Bill makes matters worse by allowing death sentences to be imposed by a simple majority vote of military judges, and banning any pardon or commutation, which expressly violates the right to life,” the experts said.
They noted that the proposed legislation further restricts access to legal counsel, fails to provide a meaningful appeal process and eliminates effective external oversight, further undermining fair trial rights. It may also be applied retroactively, in violation of international law.
The Bill also arbitrarily isolates persons sentenced to death, and mandates execution by hanging within 90 days under secrecy and immunity provisions. “Hanging amounts to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment under international law,” the experts said.
They expressed concern that the two-track system under the Bill would apply the death penalty in a discriminatory manner. “Only Palestinians in the West Bank, not Israeli settlers, are subject to wider criminal liability, military law and military courts, and less due process, and the death penalty in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem applies only to killings of Israeli citizens or residents and under regular Israeli criminal law.”
The experts underlined that the International Court of Justice found that certain Israeli restrictions in the occupied Palestinian territory constituted racial segregation and apartheid. The Court also found that Israel’s occupation violates international law and must be brought to an end. “Israel does not have authority to enforce laws against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory,” they said.
Given the failings of the military law system applied to Palestinians since 1967, the experts stressed that the risk of death sentences contravening international law is very high. Widespread arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, systematic violations of due process, pervasive torture, sexual and gender‑based violence, deaths in custody, excessive use of force, inhumane conditions of detention, and discriminatory laws and policies have been extensively documented by the Committee against Torture, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, the UN Human Rights Office, UN human rights experts, and Israeli, Palestinian and international civil society.
“We urge Israel to put an end to the death penalty, in line with the global trend towards abolition,” they said.
The experts have contacted the Government on an earlier version of the bill.
*The experts:
- Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
- Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
- Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
- Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
- Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé; Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez, and Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
- George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
- Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Bernard Duhaime, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence
The Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.
Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
UN Human Rights, country page – https://www.ohchr.org/en/countries/israel
For inquiries and media requests, please contact: hrc-sr-ct@un.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)
Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.
Source : UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Apandi
was referring to the investigations concerning the RM2.6 billion
political donation and RM42 million from SRC International transferred
into Najib's personal bank accounts.
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