Muslim nations condemn new Israeli death penalty law

Several Muslim countries have strongly criticized Israel's new death penalty law passed by parliament earlier this week.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates strongly condemn "the imposition of the death penalty in the occupied West Bank and its de facto application against Palestinians," according to a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Thursday.

The ministers warned of Israel's "increasingly discriminatory and escalating practices," which they said cement the declaration of "an apartheid system" and deny the "inalienable rights and existence of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories."

A narrow majority in the Israeli parliament approved a controversial bill on Monday to reintroduce the death penalty for terrorists, a move considered racist by critics as the legislation would effectively only apply to Palestinians.

Under the bill, Palestinians convicted of murder as an act of terrorism by military courts in the occupied territories would face a mandatory death sentence. In the event of a conviction, the death penalty is to be carried out within 90 days by hanging, administered by a prison guard.

In civilian courts in Israel, meanwhile, a person convicted of murder with a terrorism motive with the aim of destroying the State of Israel could be sentenced either to death or to life imprisonment under the law.

The bill was introduced by the Otzma Yehudit party of far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel has said that it had filed a lawsuit against the bill with Israel's Supreme Court, describing the legislation as "the most violent and extreme expression of this government's attack on human rights."