On the World Day Against the Death Penalty
Stop the Law to Execute Palestinian Political Prisoners
Report by Palestinian Prisoners’ Institutions
October 10, 2026
This year, the World Day Against the Death Penalty comes at a time when Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli occupation prisons and detention centers are experiencing extermination and systematic murder at unprecedented rates since the start of the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip. Detention centers have become major arenas for the practice of physical and psychological torture and extrajudicial killings.
Within the Israeli apparatus, the death penalty is no longer merely a matter of legislative provisions or postponed bills. Rather, it has become a daily reality for Palestinian prisoners through a policy of slow killing and direct and indirect murder. This policy takes the form of an integrated system of torture, systematic starvation, comprehensive denial of medical treatment and healthcare, isolation from the outside world, degrading treatment, and extrajudicial executions. These brutalconditions have led to the killing of at least 92 prisoners and detainees who have been identified since October 2023, making this period the deadliest in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement. This figure does not include the large number of detainees from Gaza who were executed in the field or tortured to death in prisons and military camps, without their identities being disclosed.
The proposed “Law on the Execution of Prisoners” has not been separate from this harsh reality on the ground. Rather, it has been introduced to provide legal and political cover for the ongoing extermination operations, effectively legitimizing them. The roots of the proposed death penalty law lie in a legal system that, in some of its provisions, drew upon laws dating back to the British occupation. For decades, its implementation remained constrained by safeguards and political considerations. However, this trajectory culminated in a significant legislative and political shift: on March 30, 2026, the Israeli parliamentpassed a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians who intentionally cause the deaths of Israelis. The law also lowered the legal threshold for imposing the death penalty, allowing judges to issue a death sentence by a simple majority rather than the unanimity previously required under the military orders in force in the occupied territories.
Under this legislative framework, two distinct legal tracks have been established, entrenching institutionalized discrimination. The first is the military track, which applies exclusively to Palestinians residing in the 1967-occupied Palestinian territories, while excluding settlers. Under military law, the death penalty becomes virtually mandatory, as it cannot be commuted to life imprisonment, and those sentenced cannot receive a pardon. Military courts may commute a death sentence to life imprisonment only in rare and exceptional circumstances, for reasons that the law does not clearly specify. The second is the civil track, which applies to Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship, while excluding Israelis. This track ties the penalty to ideological motives, stipulating the death penalty in cases of premeditated murder committed with the intent to “deny the existence of the State of Israel.” In such cases, civil courts must impose one of two sentences: death or life imprisonment.
The law stipulates that executions must be carried out by hanging. The sentence is to be carried out by specially trained prison guards, who enjoy full immunity from prosecution, and whose identities remain confidential. Disclosing any information about them constitutes a criminal offense punishable by law. The death sentence is to be carried out within 90 days of its issuance, although the prime minister may request a postponement under special circumstances, provided that the delay does not exceed 180 days. The restrictive measures are further compounded by the isolation of prisoners sentenced to death from other prisoners who do not face the same penalty, following the issuance of the sentence, and by denying their families the right to attend the execution. By contrast, the victim’s family is permitted to attend the court hearings and the execution.
With regard to detainees from the Gaza Strip, and as a culmination of this exceptional legal framework, the Knesset passed a separate bill on May 11, 2026, in its second and third readings, to try those whom the authorities describe as “elite prisoners.” The bill provides for indictments to be referred to a special military court, which will examine offenses under the relevant laws, including, but not limited to, the crime of genocide.
The use of the death penalty as a tool targeting Palestinians, alongside the continued torture, medical neglect, and killings in places of detention, calls for urgent international action that goes beyond verbal condemnation and leads to clear legal and political measures. Protecting prisoners’ lives, uncovering the fate of detainees, holding those responsible for violations accountable, and ending impunity are all essential steps to prevent the continued cycle of violations and ensure that it does not become a permanent and accepted reality.
In this context, we call on states, governments, parliaments, and international unions to adopt a clear position toward legislative and judicial institutions that contribute to the enactment of policies affecting the right to life, and to review forms of cooperation, representation, and institutional relations with them, including membership in parliaments and international unions, in a manner consistent with international obligations to prevent grave crimes and ensure respect for human rights.
We reiterate that the continuation of these crimes and the genocide will not affect the Palestinian people alone. The consequences of impunity extend beyond Palestine, because entrenching the principle that a state can be exempted from accountability for grave violations undermines the entire international legal system and threatens the principles that peoples, states, and human rights institutions have struggled for decades to establish.
Prisoners’ institutions emphasize that securing the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian male and female prisoners is an urgent priority, given that their continued detention under these conditions forms part of a broader system of policies and practices that violate their fundamental rights. These institutions also call for the dismantling of the military court system, which deprives Palestinian detainees of fair trial guarantees, and demand a comprehensive review of the system of detention and the laws and military orders governing the lives of Palestinians in the occupied territories, in a manner that ensures respect for the principles of international law and human rights.
In the same context, independent, transparent, and impartial international investigations must be launched into all cases of torture, ill-treatment, medical crimes, and killings in prisons, interrogation centers, and military camps. These investigations must include documenting the circumstances surrounding the deaths of prisoners and detainees, determining the fate of detainees whose places of detention and conditions remain unknown, and ensuring that no official or other person involved evades accountability.
As part of efforts to uphold justice and accountability, the institution stresses the need for full international cooperation with the International Criminal Court and support for ongoing investigations into international crimes committed against Palestinians, including crimes committed against prisoners and detainees. It also calls on the states concerned to fulfill their legal obligations regarding the enforcement of arrest warrants and the prosecution of those responsible for international crimes, and not to allow them to hide behind political or diplomatic immunities where legal grounds for accountability exist.
In this context, we reiterate our ongoing demands:
• Activating the principle of universal jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinian prisoners.
• Taking international measures against Israeli legislative and judicial institutions that contribute to enacting or implementing policies that contravene the rules of international law and human rights, including reviewing their membership in parliaments and international unions.
• Ensuring the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian male and female prisoners, and ending arbitrary detention policies that violate their rights to liberty and a fair trial.
• Working to compel the occupying power to abolish the death penalty immediately and never implement it, given that it constitutes an act of torture that is absolutely prohibited under international law.
• Ending the policy of arbitrary administrative detention and putting a stop to detention without charge or trial based on “secret evidence” that detainees or their lawyers cannot effectively challenge.
• Dismantling the system of military courts governing Palestinians in the occupied territories and ensuring fair and independent trials in accordance with international standards.
• Opening independent, transparent, and impartial investigations into all cases of torture, ill-treatment, medical neglect, and deaths in prisons and detention centers.
• Cooperating fully with the International Criminal Court, supporting its investigations, and enforcing the arrest warrants it issues in accordance with states’ legal obligations.
• Enabling the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit all prisoners and detainees and access information about their conditions of detention without restrictions, while ensuring regular communication with their families and lawyers.
• Disclosing the fate of detainees from the Gaza Strip for whom essential information regarding their places of detention and conditions remains unavailable, and ensuring that all cases of arrest, death, and release are officially and transparently documented.
(ENDS)