A state of existential anxiety is escalating among the families of Palestinian prisoners following the Israeli Knesset's approval of a law that legalizes the execution of prisoners. The prisoners' relatives view this legislation as a green light to turn detention centers into public execution grounds, thus multiplying the burden of suffering they have endured for decades. This step comes at a sensitive time when the occupied territories are witnessing unprecedented field tensions and increasing pressure on the prisoner movement.
From the heart of suffering, the cry of Maysoun Shawamreh, mother of prisoner Mansour, emerges, describing her situation and that of thousands of mothers as a heavy wait consumed by fear for the fate of their sons. Shawamreh says that anxiety is no longer limited to long prison sentences but is now focused on how this journey will end, whether through deadly torture or through the guillotine of the new law. Her words reflect a blaze of anger and pain that inhabits Palestinian homes, where they fear losing their sons at any moment.
Cities in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem witnessed a wave of angry protests coinciding with a comprehensive strike that paralyzed daily life, expressing the categorical popular rejection of this legislation. Demonstrators called on the international community to intervene urgently to stop what they described as 'occupation gallows' before the law is actually implemented. The tension was further exacerbated by the circulation of video clips of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrating with his supporters the approval of this racist law.
On the political front, the Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Omar Awadallah, considered that the occupation authorities are trying to practice 'normalization of killing' under a false legal cover provided by their legislative system. Awadallah pointed out that the use of the Knesset as a tool to legitimize the liquidation of prisoners comes in the context of grave crimes committed against Palestinians away from international oversight. He stressed that these policies aim to break the will of Palestinian steadfastness through direct threats to life.
From the perspective of international law, legal expert Tala Nasser affirmed that the Israeli Knesset lacks any legal authority to impose legislation on the residents of areas under occupation. Nasser explained that these laws are used as repressive tools to enhance control and intimidation, and they lack the minimum standards of international justice. She also noted that targeting a specific group with this law strips it of any legitimate legal character and makes it a purely political tool.
Reports from human rights organizations indicate that the law has a clear racist character, as it exclusively targets those accused of threatening the 'existence of the state,' while exempting settlers and soldiers involved in killing Palestinians. What is even more terrifying is allowing the issuance of death sentences without the need for a consensus of judges, which facilitates judicial killings. These organizations confirm that the current environment within prisons is fully prepared for the execution of such crimes in the absence of accountability.
Since October 7, 2023, human rights sources have documented the martyrdom of nearly 100 Palestinian prisoners as a result of systematic torture policies, starvation, and deliberate medical neglect. These numbers are added to the files of enforced disappearances that affected hundreds of detainees from the Gaza Strip, reinforcing fears that the new law is merely an institutionalization of an already existing bloody reality. The issue of prisoners remains the primary driver of the Palestinian conscience and the compass that unites the street in the face of continuous escalation.
Israel seeks to normalize killings through legal tools via the so-called Knesset, while committing grave crimes against our people.
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Fears of 'Legalizing Killing'.. Families of Palestinian Prisoners Face the Specter of Execution and Torture