BEIRUT, (PIC)
The National Commission for Palestinian Popular Action condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the Israeli occupation authorities’ enactment of the so-called Prisoner Execution Law.
This legislation represents a perilous and unprecedented escalation in the policies of repression and collective punishment against the Palestinian people. Furthermore, it establishes a discriminatory legal framework that targets Palestinians based on their identity and national affiliation, in flagrant violation of the principles of justice and international law.
This law does not merely provide a theoretical gateway for the death penalty; it creates a legal and executive framework that renders execution the primary sentence in specific cases involving Palestinians. This is coupled with the erosion of procedural safeguards, the removal of the requirement for judicial unanimity, and the expedited implementation of sentences.
Such measures reflect a punitive and retributive intent that is entirely divorced from any recognized standards of justice.
The Commission asserts that this legislation constitutes a clear breach of international law and stands in direct conflict with several international conventions binding upon the occupation state, most notably:
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966 Particularly Article (6), which guarantees the right to life; Article (14), which ensures the right to a fair trial; and Articles (2) and (26) regarding the prohibition of discrimination.
- - The Fourth Geneva Convention (1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, specifically Articles (66, 68, and 71), which impose strict limitations on the trial of persons under occupation and severely restrict the application of the death penalty.
- - The Convention against Torture (1984 Which prohibits torture and all forms of coercion and forbids the use of confessions extracted under duress.
- As the occupation state is a party to these international treaties, it is legally bound to respect and implement them. Furthermore, Article (27) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties explicitly states that a party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.
Consequently, the enactment or application of such a law constitutes a grave breach of international law, placing the occupation government under international legal responsibility and necessitating immediate accountability.
The National Commission for Palestinian Popular Action warns that this law heralds an extremely dangerous phase, threatening the lives of Palestinian prisoners and enshrining a discriminatory legal system predicated on collective punishment and the targeting of the Palestinian people under occupation. In this context, the Commission calls upon: - The United Nations and its legal and human rights bodies to take an immediate and clear stance in rejecting and condemning this legislation.
- - The International Criminal Court (ICC) to monitor this dangerous development as part of the systematic and grave violations committed against the Palestinian people.
- - The Signatories to the Geneva Conventions to uphold their legal responsibilities in ensuring respect for the Conventions and to take practical steps to halt these policies.
- - Parliaments and governments worldwide to exert pressure on the occupation government to rescind this law and to prevent the transformation of a legal system into a tool for political assassination.
- - International human rights organizations to launch an urgent legal and advocacy campaign to protect Palestinian prisoners from these policies.
- The Palestinian people, living under the longest military occupation in modern history, deserve the protection of international law, not its violation. They deserve justice, not legislation for their execution.
The Commission stresses that international silence regarding such laws encourages further violations. Both moral and legal responsibility dictate that the international community must transition from expressions of concern to practical measures that put an end to these hazardous policies.