FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK- March 31, 2026 – Justice For All, a leading human rights organization documenting abuses against Palestinian detainees, condemns the Israeli Knesset’s passage of a law mandating the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners held in military custody. The organization warns that the legislation formalizes a system of state-sanctioned execution, violating multiple international treaties and exacerbating the already brutal conditions within Israel’s prison system, which include arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment, denial of International Red Cross access and sexual violence.

The law, which passed with a majority of 61 votes in favor to 19 against, authorizes military courts to impose death by hanging on Palestinians convicted of killing Israeli civilians or soldiers in acts classified as “terrorism.” Notably, the law does not require a unanimous verdict, denies the possibility of pardon and mandates execution within 90 days of sentencing. Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir was seen publicly celebrating the vote, a move Justice For All decries as a celebration of institutionalized murder.

“This law is not about justice; it is about legalizing vengeance,” said Imam Malik Mujahid, President of Justice For All. “By passing this legislation, the Knesset has given a green light to execute Palestinians based on the arbitrary standards of a military court system that already functions as an assembly line for oppression. This is a dark day for human rights and a direct assault on the Geneva Conventions.”

The law targets a population already suffering under systemic abuse. According to B’Tselem, an Israel human rights organization, over 9,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli detention, including 350 children and 66 women. These individuals are held across military, criminal and civil detention frameworks. Thousands – including 51 percent of Palestinian child detainees, the highest proportion on record since monitoring began in 2008 – languish in “administrative detention,” a policy of incarceration without charge or trial.

“The international community cannot look away,” said Imam Saffet Catovic, Justice For All’s Director of U.N. Operations. “The same system that arbitrarily detains children, tortures adults and denies medical care is now empowered to execute them. We call on the U.N. Security Council and member states to impose immediate sanctions and refer this legislation to the ICC as further evidence of Israel’s crimes against humanity.”

Contact: Imam Saffet Catovic, Director of U.N. Operations

Email: saffet@justiceforall.org Phone: 202-908-JUST

Website: https://www.justiceforall.org/palestine/

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Palestine Apartheid Report: https://www.justiceforall.org/resources/reports/palestine-genocide-apartheid-occupation/