UN rights chief urges Israel to drop discriminatory death penalty proposals

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday urged Israeli authorities to abandon proposed legislation that would introduce mandatory death sentences applying exclusively to Palestinians, warning that the plans fundamentally violate international law and human rights standards.

Türk said a series of bills currently before the Israeli Knesset seek to lower the threshold for imposing capital punishment and would do so in a discriminatory manner, targeting Palestinians in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He stressed that the proposals raise grave concerns over violations of the right to life, due process guarantees, and the prohibition of discrimination under international law.

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

The High Commissioner underscored that the introduction of mandatory death sentences is particularly alarming, as such penalties remove judicial discretion and are incompatible with Israel’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He noted that international human rights law strictly limits the use of the death penalty, and that mandatory sentencing regimes violate the right to life.

Türk also highlighted the discriminatory nature of the proposed legislation, pointing out that its language and accompanying statements by Israeli politicians indicate that it is intended to apply only to Palestinians. He warned that Palestinians are frequently prosecuted in proceedings that fail to meet international fair trial standards, further compounding the risk of irreversible miscarriages of justice.

Under the proposed changes, Israel’s military law applicable in the occupied West Bank would be amended to require military courts to impose mandatory death sentences for all convictions of intentional killing. At the same time, amendments to the Israeli Penal Law would introduce capital punishment for the intentional killing of Israelis in acts labelled as terrorism.

The High Commissioner expressed particular concern that the legislation could be applied retroactively to individuals convicted in relation to the attacks of 7 October 2023, in direct violation of the principle of legality, which prohibits retroactive criminal punishment under international law.

Türk also warned that the bills rely on vague and overly broad definitions of offences, including acts described as “terrorism, racism or hostility towards the public,” creating a serious risk of arbitrary and abusive application.

Beyond human rights law, the proposals also violate international humanitarian law governing occupied territories, he said. Türk recalled that the Fourth Geneva Convention provides strict safeguards on penal procedures for protected persons, including fair trial guarantees. Denying Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza these protections, he added, could amount to a war crime.

The High Commissioner called on Israel to comply with its international legal obligations, abandon the proposed legislation, and reaffirm its commitment to the protection of human rights and the rule of law for all individuals without discrimination.