(PIC)
Hamas Political Bureau member Hussam Badran called for a comprehensive national mobilization, intensified resistance, and widespread public uprising to confront the “prisoner execution law.”
Badran said that Palestinians face a historic test that goes beyond condemnation and requires concrete action, stressing the need for broad popular mobilization to counter this dangerous step.
He warned that mediators and influential states must be officially informed that implementing any execution sentence against a prisoner would lead to an unprecedented and full-scale escalation across all fronts.
Badran also urged action on the international level, including the formation of an Arab and international legal front to prosecute Israel and the submission of a formal referral to the International Criminal Court against Israeli lawmakers, judges, and political leaders on charges of incitement to killing and committing crimes against humanity.
On Monday evening, Israel’s Knesset passed, in its second and third (final) readings, a law allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners by hanging.
The law was approved by a vote of 62 in favor and 48 against in a session attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who supported the legislation following pressure from his coalition ally Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The law stipulates the mandatory imposition of the death penalty on prisoners accused of carrying out attacks, with execution to be carried out within 90 days of sentencing and no possibility of pardon or sentence reduction, effectively turning Israeli courts into instruments for enforcing death sentences.
The Follow-Up Committee of National and Islamic Forces condemned the law, describing it as a dangerous escalation that entrenches systematic killing and places the international community before a real test of its commitment to international humanitarian law.
In a statement, the committee said the law amounts to a “formal declaration” of policies that institutionalize genocide against Palestinians, both inside and outside prisons, reflecting an unprecedented level of aggression in dealing with detainees.
It linked the passage of the law to continued international silence, saying that the lack of accountability has emboldened Israeli authorities to persist in violations, including direct killings and “slow death” policies in prisons, which have led to the deaths of dozens of detainees in recent years.
The committee added that violations against Palestinians have escalated in full view of the world, without meaningful deterrent measures, turning killing into a “daily occurrence” amid the absence of effective international action.
It called on governments, organizations, and the international community to assume their legal and moral responsibilities, urging the enforcement of international laws and resolutions without exception, including in the Palestinian territories.
The statement concluded by affirming that such measures will not break the will of the Palestinian people, stressing the continuation of their struggle until the end of the occupation.
