Statement of the ILPS in Collaboration with the ILPS Commission on People's Rights
The
International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) vehemently condemns
the newly adopted law by the “Israeli“ regime authorizing the imposition
of the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners. This measure
constitutes a grave escalation in the Zionist state’s long-standing
system of apartheid, settler-colonial domination, and systematic
violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Inherently
racist and genocidal in its nature, the law, officially named the
“Death Penalty for Terrorists Law,” only applies to Palestinians and not
Jews with “Israeli” citizenship, making it the only such law in history
to distinguish by race since Nazi Germany’s Jewish extermination laws.
It gives the state the right to kill any Palestinian prisoner convicted
of killing an “Israeli” citizen, leaving the state to decide what
constitutes this crime at its own discretion. The fact that there are so
many Palestinian prisoners, including many children, imprisoned without
charge under so-called “administrative detention” only to be charged
later for a murder they did not commit is an alarming sign for how
arbitrary and widespread these state killings may go.
This
law is not an isolated legal development—it is a calculated instrument
of terror and genocide aimed at crushing the Palestinian people’s
legitimate resistance against occupation and colonization. By
formalizing judicial executions, “Israel” seeks to legitimize
extrajudicial killings already perpetrated with impunity against
Palestinians, both within and outside detention facilities.
The
imposition of the death penalty in this context must be understood as
part of a broader architecture of repression, including arbitrary
detention, torture, administrative detention without charges or trial,
and the denial of due process. Palestinian political prisoners—widely
recognized as prisoners of war and freedom fighters—are now subjected to
the threat of state-sanctioned execution under a legal system that is
fundamentally discriminatory and devoid of justice.
This development blatantly violates core principles of international law, including:
The Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits collective punishment and mandates protections for civilians under occupation;
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which strictly limits the use of the death penalty and guarantees fair trial rights;
The Convention Against Torture, given the well-documented use of coercion and abuse in “Israeli” detention practices.
The ILPS further underscores that this law runs counter to the global movement toward the abolition of the death penalty. The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty,
a global alliance of civil society organizations and institutions, has
consistently affirmed that the death penalty constitutes a violation of
human dignity and an inhuman, cruel, and degrading punishment. It has
repeatedly emphasized that its application is incompatible with the
right to life and fair trial guarantees, especially in contexts where
judicial systems are discriminatory or fail to meet international
standards of due process. The Coalition has also warned that the death
penalty is often used as a political tool against marginalized and
oppressed peoples—conditions that clearly characterize the situation of
Palestinian prisoners under “Israeli“ rule.
In this
light, the “Israeli” regime’s adoption of the death penalty against
Palestinian prisoners not only entrenches impunity but also places it in
direct opposition to the growing international consensus for abolition
and accountability.
This move further exposes the
“Israeli” state’s character as a fascist and racist regime, emboldened
by unwavering political, military, and economic support from imperialist
powers, particularly the United States. It is part of a broader
strategy to intensify repression amid rising Palestinian resistance and
expanding international solidarity.
Palestinian
prisoners are at the heart of the resistance, being those who have been
denied of all their personal freedoms yet still maintain their
steadfastness and organization behind bars. Palestinian political
prisoners inspire the world through their well-coordinated hunger
strikes and solidarity movements they build with activists on the
outside to help expose the brutal conditions they face to the world. The
courageous Al Aqsa Flood operation was launched in 2023 with one of its
largest goals being to free all Palestinian prisoners. The death
penalty law is a deliberate attempt to liquidate the unbreakable
resistance within the Zionist dungeons and create another tool through
which to continue the genocide.
ILPS stands in full
solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners and the entire
Palestinian people in their just struggle for national liberation and
self-determination. We echo the urgent calls of prisoners’ organizations
and human rights groups demanding an end to all forms of arbitrary
detention, torture, and inhumane treatment.
We call on all member organizations, allied movements, and the international community to:
Demand the immediate repeal of this law and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners;
Hold
“Israel” accountable before international mechanisms, including the
International Criminal Court, for war crimes and crimes against
humanity;
Intensify campaigns
to expose and oppose “Israel’s” use of the death penalty and its broader
system of incarceration and repression;
Strengthen
global solidarity actions, including coordinated protests, advocacy,
and political pressure against states complicit in “Israel’s” crimes.
In
the end, the systematic detention, neglect, torture, and killing of
Palestinian political prisoners will only come to an end when the
US-Zionist occupation itself is overthrown by the Palestinian
resistance, and true national liberation is achieved for all of
Palestine, from the River to the Sea.
At this critical
juncture, silence is complicity. The adoption of the death penalty
against Palestinian prisoners is a declaration of intensified repression
against a people struggling for freedom. It must be met with resolute,
militant, and sustained international resistance.
Long live international solidarity!
Free all Palestinian political prisoners!
Signed,
International League of Peoples’ Struggle and the ILPS Commission on Peoples’ Rights (Commission 3)
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