News- Middle East: The Israeli parliament has approved the death penalty for Palestinian detainees, raising concern among Palestinian human rights groups about the "unprecedented savagery" of Israel.

The Knesset National Security Committee approved a bill on Sunday allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners accused by Tel Aviv of carrying out attacks.

The bill was denounced by the Palestinian Commission for Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society as an “unprecedented savagery.”

The human rights advocacy groups warned that the new legislation would entrench “systematic crimes” against Palestinian detainees.

The Israeli bill authored by the far-right Jewish power party, led by so called security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, was approved in its first reading by 4-1 votes. Now, it must be approved in two more readings to become law.

The bill if enacted, would allow the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis under what the regime defines as “racist or hate-motivated crimes.”

The two rights groups said the Israeli regime leaders are acting “above the law and beyond accountability.”

They cited the ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 66,000 people have been killed since October 2023, as proof of the lawless and unaccountable conduct of the Israeli leaders.

Palestinian authorities report that Israel currently detains roughly 11,100 Palestinians, including 53 women, nearly 400 children, 3,577 administrative detainees, and over 2,600 from Gaza labeled as “unlawful combatants.

Source: Press TV