Israeli lawmaker petitions Supreme Court to overturn death penalty law for Palestinian prisoners
Gilad Kariv calls legislation 'racist and extremist,' warning it could harm Israel’s international standing
Israeli opposition lawmaker Gilad Kariv said Monday he has filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to overturn a newly approved law allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
Kariv, a member of the Democratic Party, said on the US social media company X that he submitted the petition in cooperation with the Zulat Institute and the group Rabbis for Human Rights.
“This is a racist and extremist law. This is not legislation, but a populist and nationalist election campaign by a party that has failed miserably in all its governmental tasks,” he said, referring to the far-right Otzma Yehudit led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Kariv also accused the ruling Likud party, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of shifting further to the far right and criticized the religious Shas party led by Aryeh Deri, which “is prepared to sell all its values for a bit of cash.”
He described legislation as “a law that puts commanders in the IDF (army) and the Prison Service at risk. A law that severely damages the country’s international standing.”
“I hope that both the Knesset legal adviser and the government legal adviser will present a position to the High Court of Justice supporting the repeal of the law or a significant portion of its clauses.”
The Supreme Court, Israel’s highest judicial authority, has the power to strike down laws passed by the Knesset if they conflict with the country’s Basic Laws.
On March 31, the legal rights group Adalah, along with Arab lawmakers in the Knesset, also filed a petition challenging the law. The court has already instructed the government to respond.
The law cannot be implemented while it is under judicial review.
Another petition was filed last week by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel seeking the law's cancellation.
On March 30, the Knesset approved the death penalty law by a vote of 62 in favor, 48 against, and one abstention, amid celebrations by right-wing parties.
According to Adalah director Hassan Jabareen, the law -- if implemented -- would not apply retroactively to Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails.
The legislation targets those accused of deliberately killing Israelis and could affect up to 117 prisoners serving life sentences.
More than 9,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 350 children and 73 women, where they face abuse, starvation, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul
