By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Eight Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan and close US partners Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint condemnation Thursday of a new Israeli law that makes death by hanging the default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of carrying out deadly attacks in the occupied West Bank.
The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates described the legislation, passed by the Knesset late Monday, as a “dangerous escalation” that entrenches “a system of apartheid” and applies justice in a deliberately discriminatory manner against Palestinians. “The ministers underscored that this legislation constitutes a dangerous escalation, particularly given its discriminatory application against Palestinian prisoners, and stressed that such measures risk further exacerbating tensions and undermining regional stability,” the statement said.
The unusually broad coalition of governments — spanning the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia — also expressed deep concern over the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, citing “credible reports of ongoing abuses, including torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, starvation, and the denial of basic rights.” The ministers said these conditions reflect “a broader pattern of violations against the Palestinian people” and reaffirmed their opposition to Israel’s “racially discriminatory, oppressive, and aggressive policies.” The statement, released by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, urged the international community to ensure accountability and called on Israel to refrain from measures that could further inflame tensions on the ground.
The law, which passed 62 to 48 with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voting in favor, was championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. It applies exclusively to Palestinians in the West Bank, who are automatically tried in Israeli military courts rather than civilian ones. For convictions involving “acts of terrorism” that result in death, the death penalty becomes the default sentence, though it may be reduced to life imprisonment under “special circumstances.” Executions would be carried out by hanging within 90 days of sentencing, with a possible postponement of up to 180 days. The legislation is not retroactive.
By contrast, the law states that in Israeli civilian courts — which handle cases involving Israeli citizens and Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem — anyone convicted of intentionally causing death “with the aim of harming an Israeli citizen or resident out of an intention to put an end to the existence of the State of Israel” faces either death or life imprisonment. The distinction, critics argue, codifies two separate and unequal legal systems in the same territory.
The measure has drawn swift criticism from Western allies already uneasy over rising violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. The European Union and Germany expressed concern, as did Canada. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu, seeking to blunt international backlash, had asked for certain elements of the legislation to be softened. The law immediately faced a court challenge in Israel, according to local reports.
The joint statement warned that the legislation fits into “increasingly discriminatory, escalating Israeli practices that entrench a system of apartheid and a rejectionist discourse that denies the inalienable rights and the very existence of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
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