The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination warned on Friday that Israel’s new death penalty law for Palestinians was racist discriminatorya “regression” of human rights and represents segregation.
The committee, a panel of 18 independent experts, called on Israel to immediately repeal the law and “ensure that all Palestinian detainees held in Israeli military or civilian custody are guaranteed their rights.” It also called on Israel to “end all policies and practices that amount to racial discrimination and segregation of Palestinians.”
The experts were particularly concerned about the “90-day deadline for executions” when the final verdict was announced, as well as the “explicit prohibition on clemency, commutation or pardon.” This is worrying given the reported abuses in detention forced confessions committed in Gaza by Israeli security forces.
They also expressed grave concern that the expansion of the death penalty coincides with a period of rampant settler violence and “unlawful, unpunished killing of Palestinians” in the occupied Palestinian territories. Other concerns were highlighted, such as injustice and “systematic violations of Palestinians’ rights to due process and a fair trial.”
In the Committee’s view, these features of the law are fundamentally racially discriminatory and constitute racial segregation as they apply only to Palestinians. This would constitute a breach of Articles 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the Regulation International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The committee also stated that the 90-day deadline for carrying out executions without leniency, commutation or pardon was also a violation of international law and human rights. It quotes Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsthat protects the right to life. Specifically, Article 6(4) states: “Everyone sentenced to death has the right to request a pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the death sentence may be granted in all cases.”
Israel passed it Law on the death penalty for terrorists on March 30, 2026, mandating the death penalty for those convicted of “terrorism-related offenses.” An act of terrorism under the law is “intentional killing with the intent to deny the existence of the State of Israel.” As currently written, the law’s scope excludes Israeli citizens and residents and de facto applies only to Palestinians.
Human rights groups have called The UK and other countries are being asked to take a specific stand against the law. Human Rights Watch drew attention to the absence Protective measures for children under the law and emphasized that “Israel is one of the few countries in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military courts.” The committee on Friday similarly called on the international community to uphold international law and fulfill its obligations under the convention.
