The PCU’s Executive Committee commented on the recent approval by the Israeli Parliament establishing capital punishment for those “accused of terrorism.”

The statement notes that the measure adds to other discriminatory and punitive actions against the Palestinian population living under Israeli occupation.

It refers to denunciations by the UN, European Union countries, and international organizations regarding human rights violations committed during the detention and trial of Palestinians, who are often tried by military courts and detained for years without a conviction.

The PCU emphasizes that these human rights violations are compounded by the possibility that detainees will face the death penalty.

The approved law will allow courts to impose the death penalty without a request from the prosecution, and a simple majority will suffice for its application.

Military courts in the occupied West Bank are also authorized to apply the death penalty, the statement adds.

The Communist Party of the United Kingdom (PCU) rejects this new escalation of repression, which violates all international law.

It also condemns the ongoing genocide perpetrated by the State of Israel, with the complicity of the United States, against the Palestinian people and reaffirms the urgent need to halt the aggression, the occupation of land, and the repressive measures.

The document concludes that “the only way out is peace and respect for the existence of two states.”

abo/arm/kmg/ool