ISTANBUL
The Palestinian group Hamas on Tuesday condemned an Israeli Knesset bill allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners as “an attempt to legalize mass killings of Palestinians.”
The Knesset approved Monday night the preliminary reading of a bill introduced by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to execute Palestinian prisoners “who intentionally or through recklessness cause the death of an Israeli citizen.”
The bill passed by 39-16 votes in the 120-seat assembly, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
Under Israel’s legislative system, a bill must pass three readings before becoming law.
Hamas called the approval of the bill “an extension of the racist and criminal approach of the Zionist government and an attempt to legalize organized mass killing of our Palestinian people living under occupation.”
“The approval of this fascist and sadistic legislation in full view of the world constitutes an insistence on violating international laws and conventions, foremost among them International Humanitarian Law and the principles of human rights,” the group said.
It called on the international community and human rights organizations to “condemn this dangerous racist occupation legislation, impose deterrent sanctions on the rogue Israeli entity, and pressure it to withdraw the law.”
The group also demanded the formation of international investigation committees to document the conditions of Palestinian prisoners and the torture and abuses they are subjected to in Israeli prisons.
More than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, are held in Israeli prisons, suffering from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, with many killed, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
When the Knesset’s winter session opened two weeks ago, Ben-Gvir threatened that if the law was not brought to a vote in the general session within three weeks, his party would not be obliged to vote with the government coalition.
The far-right minister has repeatedly called for passing a bill allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners in Tel Aviv’s prisons.
Ben-Gvir has also emphasized the harsh conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, amid increasing abuses against them and the denial of their rights.
Among the strict measures are the suspension of visits, reduction of food allowances, and limited access to showers in prison, according to human rights organizations.