Amnesty International has called on Israel to abandon legislation that would expand the use of the death penalty, warning that the measures would violate international law and “further entrench Israel’s apartheid system” against Palestinians.

In a statement on Tuesday, the human rights group said two bills under discussion in the Knesset would mark a major reversal of Israel’s longstanding opposition to capital punishment and would disproportionately target Palestinians.

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The proposals, championed by government figures, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, would make the death penalty “another discriminatory tool in Israel’s system of apartheid”, Amnesty International said.

“These amendments mean that the most extreme and irrevocable punishment is being reserved for, and weaponised against, Palestinians,” it said.

“If adopted, these bills would distance Israel from the vast majority of states which have rejected the death penalty in law or in practice, while further entrenching its cruel system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights Israel controls.”

Israeli authorities have defended the measures, which are moving to committee stages for debate, as a necessary deterrent against deadly attacks.

But legal experts said their scope and application would violate international legal norms and result in the unjust treatment of Palestinians.

The legislation is being considered during Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and a surge in Israeli military and settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

‘Reviving’ capital punishment

Israel abolished the death penalty for “ordinary crimes”, including murder, in 1954 and has not carried out an execution since 1962.

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While it retains the death penalty for exceptional offences, such as genocide and treason, Amnesty International said the proposed legislation would “revive its implementation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory” while weakening safeguards designed to prevent miscarriages of justice.

The bills include one that would allow for the application of the death penalty by amending the Israeli Penal Law and the Defence Regulations that Israel applies to the West Bank, the group said.

A second would introduce special provisions and an ad hoc military court to prosecute those accused of involvement in the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The rights group said proposed amendments to military laws applicable in the West Bank that would allow the death penalty would in effect apply only to Palestinians because they would explicitly exclude residents of Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.

Other changes, such as an amendment applying to those accused of intentionally causing “the death of a person with the purpose of harming an Israeli citizen or resident” or relating to violations connected with the October 7 attacks, were also likely to only impact Palestinians, it said.