Beyza Binnur Donmez
31 March 2026•Update: 31 March 2026
GENEVA
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday he is “absolutely appalled” by Israeli legislation imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners.
“I have been absolutely appalled by this abject law, which I really hope will be rejected by the Supreme Court,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva.
Lazzarini warned the law would be “extraordinarily discriminatory,” as it targets only one category of the population, and stressed that the global trend is toward abolishing the death penalty rather than reinstating it.
Israel’s Knesset passed the law Monday, making the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted of lethal attacks against Israelis.
More than 9,300 Palestinians, including 350 children and 66 women, are currently held in Israeli jails, according to prisoners’ rights organizations and the Israeli Prison Service.
Reports indicate they suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has led to dozens of deaths.
Since October 2023, Israel has intensified measures against Palestinian prisoners amid its military campaign on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 72,000 people and injured 172,000, according to local authorities.
