By The South Asia Times 

Geneva — United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday strongly urged Israeli authorities to abandon draft legislative proposals that would impose mandatory death sentences exclusively on Palestinians, warning that such measures would violate international law and fundamental human rights principles.

In a statement issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Türk said the proposals currently before the Israeli Knesset “fly in the face of international law on several levels,” raising serious concerns over discrimination, denial of due process, and breaches of both international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

The High Commissioner cautioned that lowering the threshold for the use of capital punishment, particularly in a manner that applies only to Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, would be inherently discriminatory. He noted that the proposed legislation undermines the right to life and fails to meet Israel’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

“When it comes to the death penalty, the United Nations is very clear, and opposes it under all circumstances,” Türk said, stressing that capital punishment is incompatible with human dignity and carries an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people.

According to the OHCHR, the proposals include amendments to military law applicable in the occupied West Bank that would require military courts to impose mandatory death sentences for all convictions involving intentional killing. Türk warned that mandatory sentencing removes judicial discretion and violates core legal safeguards.

The draft legislation would also amend Israel’s Penal Law to introduce the death penalty for the intentional killing of Israelis in acts described as terrorism. Türk expressed concern that such changes could be applied retroactively to individuals convicted in connection with the October 7, 2023 attacks, in direct violation of the principle of legality enshrined in international law.

The High Commissioner further highlighted that the proposals rely on vague and overly broad definitions of acts such as “terrorism, racism or hostility towards the public,” raising the risk of arbitrary application. He added that the language of the legislation, alongside public statements by Israeli officials, indicates the measures are intended to apply solely to Palestinians, many of whom are convicted following trials that do not meet international fair trial standards.

Türk also underscored that the proposed laws would contravene international humanitarian law governing occupied territories. He recalled that denying Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza the fair trial guarantees set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention amounts to a war crime.

Calling on Israeli authorities to halt the legislative process, the UN rights chief urged adherence to international legal obligations and reaffirmed the UN’s long-standing opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.