By: Dr. Ilham Jabr Shamali.
(Exclusively for al-Zaytouna Centre).
Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations has published a new academic paper, in Arabic, titled “Israeli Legislation on the Death Penalty for Palestinian Prisoners: A Reading of the Historical and Political Context,” by Dr. Ilham Jabr Shamali. The paper examines Israel’s law on the execution of Palestinian prisoners within its political, social and legal context. It also traces the law’s connection to a series of Israeli laws and legislative measures targeting the Palestinian people and the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, culminating in the enactment of the execution law in 2026.
The paper examines the international legal dimensions of the execution law, arguing that it violates international humanitarian and human rights law and is incompatible with fair-trial guarantees and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It further argues that, under the study’s analysis, applying the death penalty to prisoners constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), providing a basis for the Court to exercise jurisdiction over such violations and hold those responsible accountable.
The paper concludes that these laws have transformed the Israeli judiciary into an instrument of retaliation and undermined fair-trial guarantees. It further places the execution law within the broader context of Israeli legislation and policies concerning prisoners, including the Unlawful Combatants Law, the Shalit Law, and the policy of administrative detention.
The study’s findings indicate that the law’s significance lies in the timing and broader context of its enactment. It argues that the law has effectively provided legal cover for the deliberate killing of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons through medical neglect, torture and starvation. It also calls for internationalizing every death sentence issued against a Palestinian prisoner and turning each case into a sustained source of international pressure on Israel. According to the study, the law’s expedited passage reflects a broader trend toward providing a legal framework for genocide.
Rather than introducing an entirely new practice, the law represents a legal shift that codifies and entrenches a longstanding practice of killing inside Israeli prisons through policies of medical neglect, torture and starvation.
The study calls for a firm response from international and humanitarian organizations, including efforts to classify the law as a crime against humanity and to pursue accountability for Israeli political and military leaders through international mechanisms, including the ICC and the UN Commission of Inquiry.
| Click here to download: >> Academic Paper: Israeli Legislation on the Death Penalty for Palestinian Prisoners: A Reading of the Historical and Political Context … Dr. Ilham Jabr Shamali (Arabic)  (31 pages, 3.2 MB) |
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