EU criticizes Israeli death penalty bill as ‘grave step backward’

LONDON

The EU issued a sharp rebuke following the advancement of a controversial death penalty bill in Israel, warning it would mark a significant reversal of long-standing practice and raise serious human rights concerns.

In a statement on Wednesday, EU foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said the proposal, recently approved by a committee in the Israeli parliament (Knesset), was “deeply concerning.”

The Knesset’s National Security Committee approved a draft bill late Tuesday in a step towards legalizing the execution of Palestinian prisoners.

“The European Union opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances,” El Anouni said, reiterating the bloc’s longstanding position against the death penalty.

“The death penalty is a violation of the right to life and cannot be executed without violation of the absolute right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment,” he said. “Capital punishment also has no proven deterrent effect and renders any judicial errors irreversible.”

“Israel has long upheld a de facto moratorium on both executions and capital punishment sentencing, thereby leading by example in the region despite a complex security environment,” he added. “Approving this bill would represent a grave step backward from this important practice and from positions Israel has itself expressed in the past.”

The EU urged Israeli authorities to reconsider the move, framing the issue not only as a domestic legal matter but as one tied to international obligations and democratic values.

The bill is expected to be presented to the Knesset's General Assembly next week for a vote in the second and third readings, which mark the final stages for it to become an enforceable law.

It states that the death penalty can be imposed without a request from the prosecution, that unanimity will not be required for capital punishment, and that the decision will be made by a simple majority.

Military courts applying to Palestinians living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank would also be able to impose the death penalty, with the defense minister having the right to submit an opinion to the judicial panel.

In the case of Palestinians under Israeli occupation being sentenced to death, the bill specifies that avenues for pardon or appeal would be closed.