Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT:
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has passed a law making death penalty by hanging the default sentence for Palestinians in the West Bank convicted in military courts of carrying out deadly attacks.
Palestinians are only tried by the military courts if they are living under occupation.
Under the new legislation, Israel's civilian courts will allow judges to choose between the death penalty and life imprisonment for the same conviction.
The move fulfils a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who was at the Knesset to vote for the bill in person - and his far-right allies.
Following the announcement, Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir - who was also celebrating in the Knesset - said "every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever takes a life, the State of Israel will take their life".
The law technically applies to Jewish Israelis as well, but critics say this is extremely unlikely, as the law stipulates attacks must be aimed at "ending Israel's existence".
It's being criticised as unnecessary by some Israeli politicians and as discriminatory and draconian by both Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups.
The United Nations Rights Chief Volker Turk describes the changes as "deeply discriminatory" and warns that applying it on occupied Palestinian territory "would constitute a war crime".
Chief of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, says he's not aware of any democratic country reintroducing the death penalty.
"Like many others, I have been absolutely appalled by this abject law, which I really hope will be rejected by the Supreme Court. I think I'm not aware of democratic countries reinstating death penalty. We are more used to having countries abolishing death penalty. And on top of that, this would be an extraordinary discriminatory law, because it would basically target only one category of the population.”
Mr Lazzarini is also seeking an investigation into the killing of 390 UNRWA staff during the two-year Israeli bombardment of Gaza, saying life in Gaza is "nothing but misery".
"The abject failure to muster an effective multilateral and international law-based response to the war in Gaza has set the stage for a war outside the bounds of international law that is now spreading across and beyond the Middle East. It has normalised disdain for the rules-based international order."
Despite a ceasefire declaration in October last year, there have been multiple attacks by Israel since, with the Gaza Health Ministry reporting 700 people killed as a result.
Israel has accused Hamas of killing four soldiers in Gaza over the same period.
Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, says the change to the legislation creates an asymmetrical measure that would not be applied to Israelis who committed the same offences.
Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saiz says it threatens international law.
“We absolutely condemn this decision that undermines the international law. We will always be in line, always condemning these decisions that show a radical shift.”
And the European Commission's spokesman Anouar el Anouni says the decision is a clear step backwards.
"We will also note that several voices have been raised in Israel after the adoption of the law and also noting that there is an appeal to the Supreme Court. Now this is a clear negative trend in terms of Israel's obligation vis-a-vis respect of human rights."
He says it's concerning because the death penalty is a violation of the right to life, and that is a core value for the EU.
"We as EU, our position is clear, to call on Israel to abide by its previous principled position, its obligation under international law, and its commitment to democratic principles."
The move has also been condemned by the international community.
The passage of the bill marked the culmination of a years-long drive by Israel's ultra-conservatives to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of what the Israeli government describe as nationalistic offences against Israelis.
Israel abolished the death penalty for murder in 1954.
Only one person has been executed since - convicted Nazi Adolf Eichmann, in 1962.
The Association of Civil Rights in Israel says it has already filed a petition against the law in Israel's highest court.
The international director at B'TSELEM, Sarit Michaeli, says the law is discriminatory.
"This law violates both the laws of occupation that place severe restrictions on the ability of placing the death sentence by the occupying power against the occupied population, but also is discriminatory because Israeli Jews who live in the occupied territories, Israeli settlers, will not face any sort of death penalty in the rare occurrence that they might actually be convicted, tried or convicted of any sort of offences, and certainly not the killing of Palestinians."
Australia has joined France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in expressing their concerns over the legislation.
Australia's Executive Council of Australian Jewry has also expressed its concerns.
In a statement, the Council says capital punishment has not been practised under Jewish law for many centuries, and this reflects deeply held values about the sanctity of life and the limits of human judgement.
But the United States says it respects Israel's right to establish laws.
Meanwhile, the United Nations is calling for the protection of all civilians in Gaza, citing reports of airstrikes, a fatal shooting by Israeli forces, and attacks by settlers in the West Bank.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric cites an incident where a Palestinian family was trapped inside their home as Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles outside.
He says neighbours in the village of Nahalin, near Bethlehem, managed to extinguish the fire and save the family.
"Such incidents have become frequent, and they put systematic pressure on Palestinians to leave their homes and their communities. They result in fatalities, injuries, damage, and displacement, deepening humanitarian needs. We remind all parties that civilians must always be protected. In law enforcement contexts, lethal force must be a last resort, and perpetrators of these unlawful attacks must be held to account."
According to UN data, violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased since the beginning of the latest escalation of war in Gaza in October 2023.
