Women’s Workers Association: The Death Penalty Law for Prisoners is a New Episode in the Series of Crimes Committed by the Occupation

SadaNews - The Palestinian Women’s Workers Association for Development condemned the approval by the occupying Parliament, known as the "Knesset", of the law allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners, considering this law to represent a highly dangerous escalation and a grave and complex violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law, as well as a blatant assault on human values and international treaties.

The Association emphasized that this law does not only target prisoners but also affects their families, especially women who live daily with the pain of loss, anxiety, and waiting. Each prisoner is a son or husband or brother, and their execution means a collective sentence of slow death for their family, exacerbating the suffering of women who bear harsh psychological, social, and economic burdens.

It stated that this law provides a legal cover for the policy of intentional killings pursued by the occupying authorities and seeks to legitimize the genocide practiced by the occupying government against the Palestinian people. The mentioned law targets a specific group based on national and ethnic identity, thereby reinforcing the systematic apartheid and discrimination against the Palestinian people.

It confirmed that implementing this law against Palestinian prisoners constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the provisions of the Hague Conventions and the Geneva Conventions, which restrict the occupying state’s powers and prohibit it from imposing its legislation on populations under occupation.

The Association also affirmed that the right to life is an inherent right that cannot be compromised under any pretext, and that any legislation allowing for the execution of prisoners constitutes a violation of the principles of justice and contradicts the obligations of international humanitarian law, which guarantees the protection of prisoners and preserves their rights.

It added: At a time when occupying ministers were seen dancing and drinking in celebration of issuing a law that contradicts human values and international agreements and treaties, the silence of the United Nations is no longer acceptable. The Palestinian people have the right to justice and protection, which is the responsibility of the United Nations, as stated in its charter.

It called for the immediate intervention of the United Nations and the declaration of the occupying state as a state outside the law and the UN Charter, threatening international peace and security, and for the immediate activation of Article 7 of the UN Charter which requires imposing sanctions on the occupying state to stop its violations, and for the necessary activation of international justice mechanisms to hold the occupying political and military leaders accountable for their ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people, and the formation of international courts to try war criminals from the occupying state.

It also emphasized the necessity for international solidarity movements supporting the Palestinian people, especially women’s movements, to launch an intensive global campaign to pursue the occupying leaders and pressure governments to impose political, economic, and military boycotts on the occupying state to rein in its actions and stop its crimes against the Palestinian people.