ISTANBUL
Australia opposes the "death penalty in all instances," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday, referring to Israeli legislation imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners.
She made the remarks during a closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday morning, local broadcaster SBS News reported.
Australia signed a joint statement with Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom on Sunday, expressing concern about the "de facto discriminatory character of the bill."
"The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect," it said.
Earlier Monday, Israel’s Knesset passed the law, making the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of carrying out lethal attacks against Israelis.
More than 9,300 Palestinians, including 350 children and 66 women, are currently imprisoned in Israeli jails, according to data from prisoners' rights organizations and the Israeli Prison Service.
According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, they suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has led to the deaths of dozens.
Since October 2023, Israel has escalated its measures against Palestinian prisoners, coinciding with its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip with American support, which resulted in the killing of more than 72,000 people and the injury of 172,000 others.