The United Nations has issued a stern rebuke against the Israeli parliament's recent approval of a new death penalty bill, labeling it as both "cruel and discriminatory." The international body warned that implementing this law within the occupied Palestinian territory would amount to a war crime.

UN Condemnation and Legal Concerns

Speaking on Tuesday, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed the world body's consistent opposition to capital punishment in all forms. Stephane Dujarric stated in New York that the law's inherent discriminatory nature renders it especially cruel.

Dujarric urged the Israeli government to immediately rescind the legislation and refrain from putting it into effect. The new measure, passed by the Knesset late Monday, targets Palestinians convicted by military courts for deadly attacks classified as "terrorism" in the occupied West Bank.

Discriminatory Legal Pathways

Under this new legislation, the death penalty will become a default sentence for these specific convictions. Because Palestinians in the territory are automatically tried in Israeli military courts, this effectively establishes a harsher, separate legal track.

In contrast, Israeli civilian courts already permit the death penalty or life imprisonment for those convicted of killing with the intent to harm the state.

Top Rights Official Calls for Repeal

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, also demanded the bill be "promptly repealed." He cautioned that the law is "patently inconsistent with Israel's international law obligations."

Turk emphasized that capital punishment is inherently difficult to reconcile with human dignity. He stressed that applying it in a discriminatory manner would be an "additional, particularly egregious violation of international law." Crucially, he stated, "Its application to residents of the occupied Palestinian territory would constitute a war crime."

Concerns Over Additional Legislation

The UN rights chief also voiced alarm regarding another bill currently before the Knesset. This proposed legislation seeks to create a special military court solely for prosecuting alleged crimes committed during and after Hamas's October 7 cross-border attack.

Turk noted that this specialized court would explicitly exclude jurisdiction over crimes committed by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territory. He urged the Knesset to reject this second bill, warning it would "institutionalise discriminatory and one-sided justice" by focusing exclusively on crimes committed by Palestinians.

The statement concluded by cautioning that these legislative actions risk further entrenching Israel's violation of the prohibition against racial segregation and apartheid through the discriminatory targeting of Palestinians, who often face unfair trials.

Historical Context of Death Penalty in Israel

Israel has historically utilized the death penalty very rarely. It was applied only twice since the state's founding: once in 1948 against a military captain for high treason, and again in 1962 for Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.