The Israeli occupation's new law to execute Palestinian political prisoners is not just controversial -- it is a blatant assault on international law and human morality; it strikes at the very foundations of the post-World War II legal order. Framed as a security measure, it codifies systemic discrimination, weaponizing the law to impose death based on ethnicity and national identity.
Since 1948, Israeli policies have been defined by systematic killing, mass displacement, land theft, and the incarceration of hundreds of thousands under brutal military rule. Palestinian prisoners have endured torture, abuse, and systematic denial of basic rights for decades. Since the onset of Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, these violations have escalated dramatically, with mass casualties, widespread destruction, forced displacement, and unrelenting violence across all occupied territories.
This law is the latest escalation in a decades-long campaign of oppression. At its core, it institutionalizes a dual legal system: one for Palestinians, another for Israeli citizens. It deliberately targets an entire population for the ultimate punishment while exempting others under identical circumstances.
Death by ethnicity
Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Israel is a signatory, the right to life and the obligation to apply laws without racial or national bias are absolute. By applying the death penalty exclusively to Palestinians, this law turns capital punishment into a tool of ethnic persecution, divesting it of any pretense of justice.
Even more alarming is this law's role within the framework of Israel's military occupation. Imposing the death penalty exclusively on the occupied population constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, systematically dismantling the minimum safeguards designed to preserve human dignity under conditions of extreme power imbalance. Proponents claim that "security threats" justify extraordinary measures -- but international law categorically rejects discrimination under the guise of security. The more intense the conflict, the stronger the obligation to uphold legal norms and prevent abuse of power. History proves the danger: when law is weaponized against a specific group, it becomes an instrument of oppression rather than justice.
Apartheid is defined not only by overt segregation but also by the systematic domination of one group over another through institutionalized legal frameworks. A law that assigns the harshest possible punishment to one ethnic group while shielding another from the same consequence, even in similar factual circumstances, bears the hallmarks of such a system. It is difficult to interpret this measure as anything other than a step toward formalizing legal inequality.
More than 90 Palestinian prisoners have already died in Israeli custody, revealing imprisonment itself as a mechanism of state-sanctioned death.
Torture, rape, and medical neglect as policy
Palestinian and international rights groups, as well as prisoner organizations, have documented systematic killings of detainees through torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and the deliberate denial of life-saving medical care. Patterns of delayed treatment and punitive restrictions have persisted for decades. This law does not depart from past abuses -- it codifies and escalates them, transforming de facto executions into official, de jure policy.
The geopolitical consequences are profound. By advancing this law, Israeli leaders blatantly defy international norms and consensus, reintroducing capital punishment at a time when the world has largely rejected it. Applying it selectively along ethnic lines flouts evolving global human rights standards and signals a dangerous willingness to weaponize the law for racialized political control.
Equally troubling is the near silence of the international community. While some European and Muslim-majority states have issued statements, few have taken decisive action. This gap between rhetoric and enforcement exposes a systemic failure to uphold international law, revealing a system more often manipulated by political interests than guided by principle.
If implemented, this law will not stand alone. It complements a broader apparatus of control -- territorial fragmentation, movement restrictions, unequal access to resources, and dual legal systems -- that has long structured Palestinian life. Together, these measures form an entrenched system of legalized apartheid and oppression.
What remains of international law?
Ultimately, this legislation raises a question for the entire international legal order. Can international law withstand sustained assault on its principles, or will equality and non-discrimination be rendered meaningless whenever power demands it?
The answers will not come from courts or diplomacy alone -- they will come from whether the international community acts decisively or remains complicit. Without intervention, this law will pass and set a dangerous precedent, encouraging other states to weaponize law for ethnic and political oppression, eroding the fragile framework of human rights worldwide.
The stakes could not be higher. This is not about a single law or conflict -- it is about the future of a global legal order built on the principle that justice must be blind to identity, and what happens when that principle is willfully abandoned by those in power.
*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu
