Israeli newspapers on Tuesday published a petition opposing a draft law seeking to impose the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners. The petition was signed by 1,200 individuals, including former officials such as Supreme Court judges, Nobel Prize laureates, former heads of the Shin Bet and Mossad, academics, university presidents, former Israeli army chief of staff Dan Halutz, Moshe Ya’alon, and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
اضافة اعلان
The petition stated: “We, the undersigned, strongly oppose the death penalty bill currently being discussed in the Knesset in preparation for its second and third readings, and we call on Knesset members to reject it.”
It added that “resuming the use of the death penalty would impose a moral stain on Israel and contradict its identity as a Jewish and democratic state. Capital punishment is not compatible with a state committed to human rights and human dignity. It is an extreme and absolute measure, and its primary justification—that it deters murderers—is not supported by scientific research.”
The petition also noted that the proposed legislation, initiated by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, includes what it described as extreme and unprecedented provisions. It argued that the bill “distinguishes between one blood and another,” effectively stipulating that the death penalty would apply only to Palestinians who kill Israelis, and not to others who commit crimes of comparable severity.
Furthermore, it stated that the bill would make the death penalty mandatory for Palestinians tried in military courts in the occupied territories, eliminating prosecutorial and judicial discretion and removing any possibility of clemency or sentence mitigation.
The signatories warned that reinstating the death penalty would contradict not only clear global trends but also Israel’s international legal commitments. They argued that approving the law would isolate Israel, which had pledged not to reinstate the use of capital punishment.
