The Israeli Knesset, dominated by right-wing factions, has passed legislation enabling military courts in the occupied West Bank to automatically impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of what is defined as "terrorist" killings of Israelis. This law institutionalizes ethnic discrimination within the legal system, as Israeli citizens accused of similar offenses in the West Bank are tried in civilian courts with significantly lower conviction rates. According to rights groups, this is the latest measure normalizing an "apartheid" framework where Palestinians face codified discrimination for the benefit of Israeli settlers and occupiers.

Yair Dvir from the Israeli rights organization B’Tselem told Al Jazeera that this law is part of an "apartheid regime," noting that legal distinctions between Jews and Palestinians date back to Israel's founding in 1948 and the occupation of the West Bank in 1967. He emphasized that the dehumanization of Palestinians has deepened to a point where capital punishment targeting them can pass with little dissent and is openly celebrated by lawmakers, reflecting a societal acceptance of denying Palestinians the right to life as normal.

Arab lawmaker Aida Touma-Suleiman of the left-wing Hadash party left the parliamentary chamber in disgust after the vote, stating she expected celebrations from far-right figures like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir but found it particularly "painful" to see "the public feel exactly the same way." She drew parallels to the 2018 Nation-State Law, which enshrined Jewish supremacy, and recalled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smilingly dismissing her criticism by claiming Israel is the "Middle East's only democracy."

Tirza Leibowitz, deputy director of projects at Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, highlighted that this law represents a blatant violation of international law and Israel's own basic laws. She pointed to systemic impunity: over 100 Palestinian killings in the West Bank since October 2023 remain uninvestigated, and the case of 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who died of starvation in custody, was ruled "undeterminable" by an Israeli judge. Leibowitz argued that such instances demonstrate the limited value placed on Palestinian lives within the legal system.

The law's passage with minimal internal pushback underscores the entrenched dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society. Touma-Suleiman recalled Ben-Gvir during the 2022 election campaign correcting a crowd chanting "Death to Arabs" to "Death to terrorists," and noted that the new law effectively equates the two. This development, amid international condemnation—including from the UN human rights chief who called it a potential "war crime"—challenges Israel's democratic claims and reinforces criticisms of its apartheid policies.

Source: www.aljazeera.com