Business Recorder
EDITORIAL: The passage of a law by Israel’s parliament authorising the execution of Palestinians convicted of terror-related offences marks a deeply troubling escalation in an already fraught human rights landscape. What renders this measure particularly alarming in addition to its endorsement of the death penalty is its overtly discriminatory application. As critics have underscored, the law explicitly targets Palestinians while sparing Israelis accused of comparable acts of violence in the occupied West Bank. Apart from the death penalty itself—widely rejected in contemporary human rights frameworks—this legal asymmetry undermines the very foundations of justice and equality before the law. International reaction has been swift, though not uniformly forceful. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez characterised the legislation as “an asymmetrical measure,” warning that “same crime, different punishment” represents a dangerous step toward apartheid. His words echo a growing global concern that the legal and political structure governing the occupied territories is becoming increasingly institutionalised in its discrimination. The European Union’s expression of concern, particularly its principled opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances, alongside alarm at the law’s discriminatory nature, underscores the extent to which this move is seen as violating fundamental human rights norms. Predictably, Palestinian voices have been more direct. Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Abdullah al-Zaghari, described the legislation as “fascist and racist,” pointing out that it reflects the entrenched reality of occupation, where Palestinians are subjected to punitive measures not applied to Israeli Jews. This disparity is borne out daily in the occupied West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians goes on without any accountability. Equally unsurprising, yet deeply concerning, is the response—or lack thereof—from Israel’s key ally, the US. By framing its position as respect for Israel’s sovereign right to legislate, Washington has chosen to sidestep the broader issue of discriminatory enforcement in a tacit approval of policies that contravene international humanitarian law which protects people living under occupation. Yet those policies differentiate so starkly between populations under the same effective control. Legal objections within Israel itself further illuminate the issue. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has challenged the law, arguing that the Knesset lacks jurisdiction to legislate for the West Bank, a territory over which Israel does not hold recognised sovereignty. Furthermore, that the legislation violates Israel’s own Basic Law by infringing upon the rights to life, human dignity, due process, and equality. Meanwhile, outgoing chief of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, has decried the “extraordinary level of impunity” enjoyed by Israel, citing the deaths of hundreds of aid workers in Gaza, as well as arbitrary detention and torture suffered by many others. His assertion that this sense of impunity is “spreading” to other areas, including Lebanon and Iran, outside the bounds of international law, should give the international community pause. As he aptly observed, Israel has crossed all possible red lines, “and [yet] there have never ever been any consequences, whether diplomatic, political, economic, legal — nothing.” Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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