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flag UN rights chief urges Israel to halt mandatory death penalty bill for Palestinians, calling it a human rights violation.

flag UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has urged Israel to halt proposed legislation that would mandate death sentences exclusively for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, calling the plan a violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. flag The bill, under consideration by Israel’s Knesset, would impose mandatory capital punishment for intentional killings in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, including retroactively for crimes linked to the October 7, 2023 attacks. flag Türk warned the law discriminates against Palestinians, undermines fair trial rights, eliminates judicial discretion, and risks executing innocent people. flag He emphasized the death penalty’s incompatibility with human dignity and Israel’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention. flag The proposal has raised concerns about war crimes and the erosion of legal protections for Palestinians in occupied territories.

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