UN Rights Chief Urges Israel to Drop Draft Death Penalty Measures Targeting Palestinians

Overview

• On January 2, UN High Commissioner Volker Türk urged Israel to abandon Knesset drafts expanding capital punishment in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
• One proposal would require West Bank military courts to impose mandatory death sentences for all convictions for intentional killing.
• Another would add capital punishment for the intentional killing of Israelis in an act of terror and would operate retroactively for 7 October 2023 cases.
• OHCHR says the measures are discriminatory because they would apply exclusively to Palestinians and rely on overly broad terms such as terrorism, racism or hostility towards the public.
• The UN cites violations of the ICCPR and Fourth Geneva Convention and notes the drafts remain under consideration, with the organization opposing the death penalty in all cases.