Media sources reported that the commander of the Central Command in the Israeli occupation army, Avi Bluth, has officially signed a legal amendment that allows the application of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners in the occupied West Bank. This measure comes in line with legislation previously approved by the Israeli Knesset, which faced procedural obstacles related to the nature of military rule in the West Bank areas.
The Knesset had approved the law for the execution of prisoners on March 30th with a majority of 62 members, a step that sparked widespread human rights condemnation. The law explicitly states the possibility of imposing the death penalty on any Palestinian accused of killing an Israeli, while the legislation discriminately exempts settlers or Israelis who commit murder against Palestinians.
The latest military move came at the direct request of Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, who considered this amendment to end what he described as the 'era of containment.' Katz affirmed in his statements that the goal is to deprive prisoners of waiting for exchange deals or living in normal prison conditions, emphasizing the need to pay the 'highest price' for resistance operations.
Procedurally, the new amendment grants military courts broad powers to issue death sentences without the need for a unanimous judicial decision, as a simple majority is sufficient. The law also dropped the requirement for an official request from the public prosecution to implement the penalty, which facilitates the swift issuance of these unjust sentences against detainees.
Data from the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs indicates that this law may directly affect about 117 prisoners currently held in occupation prisons on charges of killing Israelis. Human rights organizations fear that this legislation may be a prelude to systematic legal liquidations targeting national symbols and Palestinian activists inside detention centers.
In a related context, more than 9,500 Palestinian prisoners are held in occupation prisons, including hundreds of children and women who suffer from tragic detention conditions. Human rights reports confirm that these prisoners are subjected to systematic torture policies and deliberate starvation, as well as medical neglect that has led to the martyrdom of dozens of them in recent months.
These dangerous legal developments come at a time when the occupation continues its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, which has left tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded. The escalation measures against prisoners coincide with intensive military campaigns in West Bank cities and camps, which warns of an unprecedented explosion of the situation in all occupied territories.
The era of containment is over, and those who kill Jews will not remain in prisons under comfortable conditions but will pay the highest price.
شارك برأيك
The Occupation Legitimizes the Execution of Prisoners in the West Bank with a New Military Amendment