Death penalty law for terrorists: Hamas accuses Israel of violating international law

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, responsible for the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the killing of more than 1,200 people, condemned the Knesset’s death penalty law for terrorists.

“This is a dangerous precedent that poses a threat to the lives of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. The decision confirms the occupation and its leaders’ contempt for international law and their violation of all norms and conventions,” the terrorists say.

Hamas called on the international community, including the UN and the International Red Cross, to take immediate action to protect Palestinian prisoners from Israeli “brutality.”

The Palestinian Authority also strongly condemned the Knesset’s law on the death penalty for terrorists, while the Ramallah statement referred to the Israeli law as “the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners.”

The communiqué said the law was a “war crime against the Palestinian people” and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Mahmoud Abbas administration says the law is part of Israel’s escalatory policy throughout the Palestinian territories.