Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to suspend a trade agreement with Israel following the passage of a controversial death penalty law targeting Palestinians. Leading humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam UK and ActionAid UK, have called on the UK government to halt the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement until widespread violations of international law cease.
New Legislation Sparks Outrage
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a bill last month that approves the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis. The law marks the culmination of a far-right push to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offences against Israelis. Critics have branded the legislation discriminatory, as it applies primarily to Palestinians while excluding Israeli settlers, who are tried in civilian courts.
ActionAid's Jamil Sawalmeh told the Mirror: "For Palestinians, this is just another step in a long systematic process of assault on every aspect of Palestinian life. The recent bill passed in the Israeli Knesset is outrageous, yet not really surprising to Palestinians who already saw the legalisation of many other outrageous actions such as land confiscation and land registration in the West Bank, as well as arbitrary and punitive house demolitions."
Joint Statement from Human Rights Groups
A coalition of humanitarian and human rights organisations, including War on Want, Human Rights Watch, Amos Trust, Council for Arab British Understanding, Global Legal Action Network, and Medical Aid for Palestinians, issued a joint statement condemning the law. They described it as "another grave and dangerous escalation of the Israeli government's systematic assault on Palestinian life and rights, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territory." The statement urged the UK government to push for the repeal of the law and to suspend the trade agreement by invoking Israel's material breach of its human rights clause.
The groups also called for the UK to implement the International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion and end complicity in the Israeli government's unlawful occupation and violations of international law.
Details of the Death Penalty Law
The law makes death by hanging the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of nationalistic killings. It also gives Israeli courts the option to impose the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted of similar charges, but experts say the language effectively confines its application to Palestinian citizens of Israel, excluding Jewish citizens. The law does not apply retroactively to prisoners already held by Israel, including those involved in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas-led militants that triggered the war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the Knesset to vote for the bill in person. Far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir described the law as long overdue, wearing a small metal noose pin on his lapel during the vote. "From today, every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever takes a life, the State of Israel will take their life," he told lawmakers.
UK Government's Stance
In May last year, then Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the suspension of negotiations on a new free trade agreement with Israel, citing the Netanyahu government's actions. Ahead of the death penalty law's passage, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper expressed "deep concern" in a joint statement with Australia, Germany, France, Italy, and New Zealand. The statement warned that the bill's discriminatory character could undermine Israel's commitments to democratic principles and urged Israeli decision-makers to abandon the plans.
