UAE, 7 other Islamic states condemn Israel over death penalty law for Palestinians

Islamic nations including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia lambasted on Thursday the approval of a death penalty bill for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, saying the move threatens "regional stability."

The statement was released by foreign ministers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey.

The foreign ministers of the UAE, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Turkey, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the State of Qatar strongly condemned the Israeli occupying power's enactment of a law in its Parliament (Knesset), that allows the imposition of the death penalty in the occupied West Bank and its de facto application against Palestinians.

The ministers warned against the increasingly discriminatory, escalating Israeli practices that entrench a system of apartheid and a rejectionist discourse that denies the inalienable rights and the very existence of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

The foreign ministers underscored that this legislation constitutes a dangerous escalation, particularly given its discriminatory application against Palestinian prisoners, and stressed that such measures risk further exacerbating tensions and undermining regional stability.

The Ministers also expressed deep concern over the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, warning of mounting risks amid credible reports of ongoing abuses, including torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, starvation, and the denial of basic rights. They emphasised that these practices reflect a broader pattern of violations against the Palestinian people.

The ministers reaffirmed their opposition to Israel's racially discriminatory, oppressive, and aggressive policies targeting Palestinians.

The ministers further emphasised the urgent need to refrain from measures imposed by the occupying power that risk further inflaming tensions on the ground. They stressed the importance of ensuring accountability and called for strengthened international efforts to uphold stability and prevent further deterioration.

Under the law passed by Israel's parliament late on Monday, Palestinians convicted by military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as "acts of terrorism" will face the death penalty.

The law has been criticised by the United Nations and European Union, while the United States came out in support of "Israel's sovereign right to determine its own laws."

Almost all of the countries which signed the statement enforce the death penalty at home, including Saudi Arabia which executed 356 people alone in 2025.

Under the new law, Palestinians in the West Bank convicted by military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as "terrorism" will face the death penalty as a default sentence.

Because Palestinians in the territory are automatically tried in Israeli military courts, the measure effectively creates a separate and harsher legal track.

In Israeli civilian courts, the law allows for either death or life imprisonment for those convicted of killing with intent to harm the state.

Israel has applied the death penalty only twice: in 1948, shortly after the state's founding, against a military captain accused of high treason, and then in 1962, when Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was hanged.

WAM / Agence France-Presse