Some of the UK's leading humanitarian and human rights groups on Thursday are calling on the British government to suspend its trade agreement with Israel following the passing of its controversial death penalty law , which they warn is "discriminatory by design". Organisations including Human Rights Watch, ActionAid UK, War on Want and the Council for Arab-British Understanding warned that the move is yet another "grave and dangerous escalation" of the Israeli government’s systematic assault on Palestinian life and rights, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Shahd Mousalli, Oxfam’s Senior Humanitarian Influencing Advisor and co-author of the statement, says the controversial law highlights the UK’s continued failure to hold Israel accountable.
"The adoption of this legislation, which effectively imposes a quasi-mandatory death penalty on Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory, is yet another demonstration of the scale of impunity Israel has been allowed to get away with by the UK, with very little real political and diplomatic consequences. This cannot continue," Mousalli told The New Arab. In a joint letter to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper , eleven organisations called on the government not only to suspend the agreement but also to implement the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion declaring that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is unlawful, and to actively support Palestinian and Israeli rights organisations.
"As Israel's crimes against Palestinians continue to mount, the UK's response continues to be farcically inadequate," Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, told The New Arab .
Ahmed noted that the UK continues to treat Israel as a preferential trade partner and has refused to review the trade agreement, which is predicated on respect for human rights.
"The UK must use every lever to pressure the Israeli government to repeal this discriminatory death penalty law before the first execution takes place."
The organisations warn that the bill, which was formally adopted in March, will be applied through an Israeli military court system that has a conviction rate of almost 96 percent, lacks basic due process and fair trial protections for Palestinians, and has been criticised for the use of torture to extract "confessions".
"Israel’s new death penalty law exposes once again its excessively cruel, apartheid regime against Palestinians and the resolute complicity of the UK government in Israel’s atrocities," Neil Sammonds, Senior Campaigner on Palestine at War on Want, told The New Arab .
Sammonds added that despite the ICJ ruling, "the UK prioritises business as usual with the perpetrators over its legal and moral obligations to stop assisting these outrages".
"Until the UK takes these long overdue steps it is complicit in apartheid and genocide."
The letter also notes that while the UK has long positioned itself as a global leader in the abolition of the death penalty, it cannot "credibly" do so while failing to respond to its ally’s ruling, which it says is "in clear violation of international law".
While the groups acknowledged the UK’s joint statement of concern, they said the response "falls short of what the situation demands".
Chris Doyle, Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, told The New Arab : "This is just the latest Israeli action that merits a form of UK and EU sanction against Israel," adding that the “discriminatory law reinforces the brutal regime of apartheid that Israel has imposed on Palestinians".
"The failure to take meaningful action so far highlights the climate of impunity that Israel continues to enjoy when committing major crimes, including genocide against Palestinians.
This lack of accountability has allowed Israel to behave like a rogue state occupying the territory of three states and committing war crimes elsewhere in Lebanon, Syria and Iran."
The organisations also highlighted the impact the bill will have on children, noting that the law does not include any safeguards excluding them from its application, while Israel remains one of the few countries that prosecutes children in military courts.
"This legislation is a dangerous escalation of a system that already denies Palestinians basic rights," Joanne O’Neill, Co-Director of Advocacy and Influencing at ActionAid UK, told The New Arab. "A death penalty imposed through military courts that exclude Israeli citizens is discriminatory by design and incompatible with international law.
"The UK government must move beyond expressions of concern and take concrete action to press for the repeal of this law and uphold its commitment to human rights and the rule of law."
The signatories are calling on the UK government to do everything in its power to push for the reversal of the law and for Israel to comply with international law.
The law introduces a mandatory death penalty that does not require judicial unanimity, with executions to be carried out by hanging within 90 days of confirmation.
The final draft of the controversial bill was published in January, formalising executions under a legal framework that applies exclusively to Palestinians and not to Israelis committing the same offence.