LONDON

The EU foreign policy chief on Tuesday expressed "deep concern" over a new Israeli law allowing the death penalty for Palestinians, urging Israel to abide by its obligations under international law.

In a statement, Kaja Kallas said the EU has a "principled position" against the death penalty in all cases and in all circumstances.

"We are deeply concerned about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill," she noted.

The EU urges Israel to abide by its obligations under international law, as well as "its commitment to democratic principles, as reflected also in the provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement," said Kallas.

Saying that the death penalty is a violation of the right to life, she added that it cannot be executed without a violation of the absolute right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment.

Israel’s Knesset passed the law on 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 prisons, according to prisoner rights groups and the Israeli Prison Service.