Civil society and unions join families at protests as EU voices are ‘concerned’ about Israel’s law targeting Palestinian prisoners.

Hundreds of Palestinians have protested across the occupied West Bank to denounce the passage of an Israeli law approving the use of the death penalty against Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.

The demonstrations on Tuesday were staged in several cities – including Ramallah, Tubas, Nablus and Jenin in the north and Hebron in the south – after calls by prisoner advocacy groups.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa said Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups and national factions staged a sit-in in the courtyard of the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in el-Bireh.

Participants displayed photographs of dozens of prisoners who have died in custody over the decades, Wafa added.

The protest drew a broad crowd, including families of prisoners, senior members of the Fatah party, civil society organisations, trade unions and women’s groups.

More than 9,500 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children and 73 women. Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups say detainees face torture, starvation and medical neglect, leading to dozens of deaths.

Israel’s Knesset passed the death penalty legislation on Monday evening in a 62-48 vote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in support of the law.

European condemnation

Human rights organisations and Palestinian officials have denounced Israel’s approval of the legislation allowing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks, arguing that it breaches international law and is fundamentally discriminatory because it does not apply equally to Israeli convicts.

The human rights group Amnesty International called on Israeli authorities to repeal the law, which it described as “a public display of cruelty, discrimination and utter contempt for human rights”.

“For years, we have seen an alarming pattern of apparent extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings of Palestinians – with the perpetrators also enjoying near-total impunity,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, said in a statement.

“This new law which allows for state-sanctioned executions is a culmination of such policies.”

A European Union spokesperson said passage of the legislation is “very ⁠concerning”.

“We call on Israel to abide by its previous principled position, its obligation under international law and its commitment ⁠to democratic principles,” he ⁠said.

Germany said it could “not endorse” the new law. “The German government views the law passed yesterday with great concern,” government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.

“The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental principle of German policy,” he said, also warning that “such a law would likely apply exclusively to Palestinians in the Palestinian territories”.

Under the law, executions would be carried out by hanging by prison guards appointed by the Israeli Prison Service. Those involved would have anonymity and legal immunity.

The legislation also mandates transferring the Palestinians sentenced to death to special detention facilities and restricting their visitors to authorised parties. Meetings with lawyers would be limited to video communications.

Since the beginning of its genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023, Israel has intensified measures against Palestinian prisoners. The conflict has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded 172,000, most of them women and children.