Unione Sindacale di Base expresses its firm condemnation of the approval, by the Israeli Parliament, of the law which introduces the possibility of carrying out the death penalty against Palestinian prisoners, essentially accused of having fought against the Zionist occupation.
We consider this provision to be a very serious step backwards in terms of human rights and international law. The institution of capital punishment in a context of occupation and abuse is a further instrument of oppression of the Palestinian people; this law also constitutes a dangerous escalation in occupation policies, which directly threatens the life and fundamental rights of the Palestinian people.
Making this scenario even more alarming are the conditions in which thousands of Palestinians are detained in Israeli prisons, including numerous minors.
According to the recent report by UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, torture and mistreatment of Palestinians – men, women and children – do not represent isolated incidents, but a structural system. The report speaks explicitly of widespread practices that include beatings, violence, food deprivation and degrading treatment, inserted into a broader framework of control and repression. In his report, he highlights how these practices cause serious physical and mental harm and are part of a system that affects the entire Palestinian people.
In this context, the introduction of the death penalty represents a further extremely serious escalation. The law gives military courts the authority to issue and carry out death sentences within 90 days, in a context where the conviction rate against Palestinians exceeds 96%. This turns this legislation into a tool that risks legitimizing the deliberate killing of prisoners, exposing thousands of Palestinian political prisoners to immediate danger.
These prisoners, often arrested in the context of their opposition to the occupation, now face a direct threat to their lives and existence. The new legislation therefore represents a qualitative leap in repression, with potentially irreversible consequences.
We ask the international community, European institutions and human rights organizations to intervene urgently to stop the application of this law.
The USB will continue to support all mobilization and solidarity initiatives in defense of the Palestinian people, against all forms of repression and discrimination, against genocide, against occupation, for free Palestine.
USB DIPARTIMENTO INTERNAZIONALE
