High Commissioner Volker Türk said the series of draft proposals before Israel’s Knesset raise grave concerns over discrimination, due process violations, and breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law.

“When it comes to the death penalty, the United Nations is very clear, and opposes it under all circumstances,” he said. “It is profoundly difficult to reconcile such punishment with human dignity and raises the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people.”

The proposals would lower the threshold for applying capital punishment and introduce mandatory death sentences that leave courts with no discretion, a move Mr. Türk said violates the right to life and is inconsistent with Israel’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“The proposal also raises other human rights concerns, including on the basis that it is discriminatory given it will exclusively apply to Palestinians,” he added.

According to the UN rights chief, the language of the proposed legislation, as well as statements by Israeli politicians, indicate it is intended to apply only to Palestinians, who are often convicted following unfair trials.

Proposed changes

The proposed changes would amend the military law governing the occupied West Bank, requiring military courts to impose mandatory death sentences for all convictions for intentional killing in the territory.

It would also amend Israel’s Penal Law to introduce the death penalty for the intentional killing of Israelis in an act of terror.

This would have the effect of applying capital punishment retroactively to those convicted of killings related to the horrific attacks on 7 October 2023, in violation of the principle of legality enshrined in international law.

More than 1,200 Israeli citizens and those of other nations were killed and over 250 taken hostages by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, when they stormed communities near Gaza in southern Israel.

In the ensuing Israeli military offensive, more than 70,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed and many more injured.

The October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds, which has allowed scaling up of aid but medical services are insufficient and the peace plan remains stalled.