The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has once again condemned the approval of the first reading of an Israeli law that paves the way for the execution of Palestinian abductees.
The resistance movement said on Thursday night that the so-called law marks a dangerous step toward formalizing systematic killings inside the regime’s detention facilities, after the Israeli Knesset (parliament) held a hearing regarding the bill that would impose the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners within 90 days, without the possibility of appeal.
Hamas said the Israeli law also turns prisons into arenas for the liquidation of Palestinians under the cover of legislation.
It described the move to legalize the execution of Palestinians as a new and brutal form of legalized bloodshed that blatantly violates international humanitarian law.
Hamas said final approval of the law will provide legal cover for killing Palestinian abductees, and replace execution with previous slow-death tactics, including torture and medical neglect.
The movement said the international community, especially the UN, is responsible for the consequences of this catastrophic and unlawful escalation.
A Palestinian prisoners’ rights group has also expressed deep concern over the law.
The Asra Media Office said it will transform Israel’s already biased judicial system into “an openly political instrument of revenge.”
The bill allows judges to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on “nationalistic grounds,” but does not apply similarly to cases of Israelis killing Palestinians.
The bill, first pushed by far-right Israeli parties before Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, resurfaced in recent months with renewed backing.
Ben-Gvir last month threatened to withdraw his party’s support from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition unless it advances the legislation.
Ben-Gvir argued that enforcing the death penalty would serve as “a significant lever of pressure on Hamas” and should be part of Israel’s “toolbox” in its war on the Palestinian resistance movement.
Earlier this month, lawmakers approved the bill in the first of three required votes in the Knesset.
The legislation was pushed through on November 3, drawing widespread condemnation from Palestinians and human rights organizations.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the bill as a war crime, reflecting the regime’s increasing extremism and criminality against the Palestinian people.
The ministry said that Israel’s judicial system and Knesset serve as tools to legitimize crimes against Palestinians and ensure impunity. They said the measure extends the regime’s atrocities in Gaza to the occupied West Bank, with serious implications for those abducted.
Palestinian prisoners have reported being held in harrowing conditions, particularly during the past two years of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Multiple reports by prisoner rights organizations and the United Nations have detailed systematic abuse inside Israeli detention centers, including severe beatings, starvation, denial of family visits, and medical negligence.
According to rights groups, at least 98 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in Israeli custody since October 7, 2023.
IMAGE CREDIT: The illegally imprisoned Gazan prisoners abducted by the Israeli occupation forces are seen at a courtyard in a prison in the southern Israeli occupied territories, on February 14, 2024. (Photo by Flash90)
[ SOURCE: PRESS TV and NEWS AGENCIES ]
