The Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Advocacy calls on European parliaments and their legislative institutions to boycott the Israeli Knesset and to halt all forms of parliamentary cooperation with it, considering the Knesset a legislative body that plays a central role in enacting laws and policies that systematically violate the rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and that entrench a system of repression and persecution against Palestinian prisoners and the Palestinian people as a whole.
The Center affirms that the danger posed by this institution is not limited to legislation alone, but extends to its direct complicity with Israeli security and intelligence agencies by providing legal and political cover for practices that have led to the killing of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners and detainees inside prisons and detention centers.
The Center has documented the deaths of approximately 90 prisoners and detainees over the past two years as a result of torture, deliberate medical neglect, ill-treatment, and inhumane detention conditions, amid the silence of the Knesset and legislation that protects the perpetrators of these crimes from accountability.
The Center further emphasizes that these crimes are currently accompanied by an extremely dangerous legislative escalation, represented by efforts to pass a death penalty law against Palestinian prisoners, a law currently being advanced within the Knesset.
This constitutes a fully fledged legislative crime aimed at legitimizing killing and turning it into a tool of political and racial revenge, in blatant violation of the right to life and the standards of fair trial.
This law does not stand in isolation from a broader system of racist legislation previously approved by the Knesset, including the legalization of arbitrary administrative detention, the intensification of collective punishments, the deprivation of prisoners of healthcare and family visits, and the targeting of children, women, and sick prisoners making the Knesset a direct partner in grave violations and ongoing crimes.
The continuation of European parliamentary relations with the Knesset, including official visits, joint committees, and dialogue channels, grants political and moral cover to an institution that legalizes killing and violations, and clearly contradicts the declared European values and principles based on justice, human rights, and the rule of law.
The Center stresses that boycotting the Israeli Knesset is no longer a symbolic option, but has become a moral and legal duty to exert pressure to halt dangerous legislation, foremost among it the death penalty law, to hold those involved in the killing of prisoners accountable, to end the policy of administrative detention and collective punishment, to compel Israel to respect its international obligations, and to protect Palestinian prisoners from systematic targeting.
The Center warns that silence or parliamentary normalization with the Knesset contributes to the perpetuation of crimes and encourages further legislative and security escalation against prisoners, and that history will hold accountable all those who chose to stand with a system of injustice rather than uphold the principles of justice and humanity.
In light of this demand, the Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Advocacy affirms the following:
First: The Israeli Knesset constitutes a fundamental pillar in the system of violations through enacting and legislating racist laws that legalize repression and abuse against Palestinian prisoners and grant immunity to the institutions of occupation.
Second: The complicity of the Knesset with Israeli security and intelligence agencies—through legislation, silence, and approval—has led to the deaths of approximately 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees over the past two years, amounting to grave crimes that require international accountability.
Third: The death penalty law currently being advanced represents an unprecedented escalation and a dangerous legislative crime, a blatant violation of the right to life and the principles of justice, and exposes the vengeful and racist nature of the Israeli legislative system.
Fourth: The continuation of European parliamentary cooperation with the Knesset contradicts Europe’s legal and moral commitments and grants political cover to a legislative institution involved in legitimizing crimes and violations.
Fifth: Boycotting the Israeli Knesset and protecting Palestinian prisoners constitute an international legal and moral responsibility, requiring practical positions and concrete measures that go beyond statements of concern and condemnation, leading to accountability and an end to impunity.
Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Advocacy
Monday, 19 January 2026
