STOP THE
DEATH PENALTY
LAW

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the law passed by the Israeli Knesset on 30 March 2026, which mandates the death penalty by hanging for Palestinians convicted in military courts of killings classified as "terrorism," while explicitly exempting Israeli citizens from the same punishment.

This legislation raises urgent concerns under international law:

• It targets Palestinians exclusively, creating a discriminatory capital punishment regime based on ethnicity
• Palestinian military courts have a conviction rate exceeding 96%, with convictions frequently based on confessions obtained under duress and torture
• Execution must be carried out within 90 days, with no possibility of pardon or commutation, leaving almost no room to correct errors
• Israeli citizens charged with equivalent acts in the occupied West Bank are tried in civilian courts and face no such penalty
• Approximately 9,500 Palestinians are currently detained in Israeli prisons, roughly half without charge or trial

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the ICC, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and B'Tselem have all raised serious objections. UN experts have called for the law's immediate repeal, describing it as a possible war crime and a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

I urge your office to take all available steps to:

1. Demand the immediate repeal of this legislation
2. Hold accountable those responsible for its enactment
3. Ensure that no executions are carried out under this discriminatory framework
4. Pursue all legal, diplomatic, and institutional mechanisms available to prevent irreversible harm

History will judge how the international community responded at this moment. I ask that you act with the urgency this situation demands.

Yours sincerely,
A concerned global citizen