'Inhumane and degrading': Israel set to approve death penalty for Palestinians

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is set to vote on Monday on the final readings of a bill that would allow the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners convicted of "terrorism".

The legislation has drawn criticism for violating the right to life and for its potentially discriminatory application, with Palestinians facing execution while Jewish offenders likely receiving prison sentences for similar crimes.

On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom urged Israeli authorities to "abandon" the vote.

"We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill," they said in a joint statement, warning it could undermine Israel's commitment to democratic principles.

"The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterrent effect… The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us."

According to Haaretz, the Israeli military believes the legislation - which is sponsored by the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party - could violate international law and expose commanders to potential arrest warrants.

Last week, the Knesset's National Security Committee approved the bill's latest reading despite more than 1,000 objections.

Amid legal concerns, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought to soften the bill's original wording. However, legal experts say the current wording would still be viewed as a breach of international law.

Anxious families 

The bill has raised alarm among the families of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who could face execution if it becomes law.

Sabreen Shahrouri, sister of Muammar Shahrouri, a 46-year-old prisoner from Tulkarm, told Middle East Eye the proposal has left families living in constant fear.

Her brother, a Hamas member, was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years for his role in planning a bombing in Netanya that killed 29 Israelis. Israel has repeatedly refused to include him in prisoner exchange deals.

Shahrouri said her brother and other prisoners have faced severe abuse since October 2023.

"Since the war on Gaza began, we have barely heard anything about Muammar," she said, adding that he has been held in solitary confinement for more than two years.

'This is an execution of their souls before their bodies'

- Sabreen Shahrouri, sister of Palestinian prisoner 

She said he has been subjected to repeated beatings, leaving him with multiple fractures and unable to sleep on his back. He has also been denied treatment for rheumatism since 2023.

According to his lawyer, prison guards have allegedly set dogs on him inside his cell, leaving him bleeding.

"I'm afraid to read the news every morning, fearing I'll find his name among those killed under torture," Shahrouri said.

Prisoners are already experiencing a slow form of execution, she added.

"They face constant beatings, starvation, torture, denial of medical care, blankets and clothing, solitary confinement and relentless humiliation.

"This is an execution of their souls before their bodies."

Palestinian prisoners' rights groups have described the bill as an "unprecedented act of savagery", accusing Israel of seeking to formalise the killing of detainees amid the escalating abuse in custody.

'Discriminatory punitive framework'

The bill has been strongly condemned by human rights groups and legal experts, who point to Israel's widespread arrests of Palestinians on broad "terrorism" charges and a surge in reports of torture and deaths in custody since the war on Gaza began.

Last month, a group of UN experts urged Israel to withdraw the legislation, warning that "mandatory death sentences are contrary to the right to life".

They also raised concerns over the proposed use of hanging, saying it would "amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment under international law".

The experts further warned the measure could be applied in a discriminatory manner against Palestinians.

'The bills are among the most extreme and dangerous legislative measures ever proposed by Israel against Palestinians'

- Israel-based rights groups

Several Israeli rights groups - including Adalah, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), HaMoked and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) - have also condemned the bill.

In a joint statement, they said the legislation could impose the death penalty almost exclusively on Palestinians, creating what they described as a "racialised system of capital punishment".

"The bills are among the most extreme and dangerous legislative measures ever proposed by Israel against Palestinians," the groups said.

They added that the proposal would establish a "discriminatory punitive framework", denying Palestinians equal protection under the law, fair trial rights and safeguards against torture and inhuman treatment.

Human rights organisations have long documented the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees, but say abuses have sharply escalated since October 2023.

At least 90 prisoners have died in Israeli custody during that period.