March 30, 2026
The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy strongly condemns the Israeli occupation Knesset’s passage of what is termed the “Prisoner Execution Law” in its second and third readings, in a step that represents an official transition to a phase of legalized killing against Palestinian prisoners inside prisons.
The Center affirms that this law bears the clear imprint of an extremist, fascist approach led by the so-called “National Security” Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with full backing from the political, security, and military levels of the occupying state, foremost among them Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, which has chosen to move from policies of repression and abuse to a policy of openly executing prisoners.
What took place inside Israel’s Knesset, before the eyes and ears of the entire world, is not merely legal legislation; rather, it is an open declaration of war on the lives of prisoners, transforming prisons into execution platforms under a judicial system that is fully biased and devoid of even the minimum standards of justice or independence.
The Center notes that the occupation has already committed the crime of slow killing against prisoners, with more than 350 Palestinian prisoners having died inside prisons prior to the passage of this law as a result of torture, medical neglect, and systematic abuse. This means that the law does not initiate killing, but will instead accelerate it and grant it official cover, whether through direct execution or other means. The passage of this law is but a new episode in the systematic annihilation faced by the Palestinian people, targeting their very existence and lives in an escalating manner.
The passage of this law constitutes a dangerous and unprecedented escalation that will open a new phase of confrontation and continuous struggle across all areas of Palestinian land, amid a clear understanding that the occupation is proceeding toward the physical liquidation of prisoners, and that this law will not pass without consequences at all levels.
The Center also holds the state of Arab weakness additionally responsible for reaching this stage, as Arab positions have not risen to the level of the threat and have remained confined to timid statements that have exerted no real pressure to halt this dangerous course.
The Center believes that the role of the Palestinian Authority can no longer tolerate hesitation or reliance on symbolic positions; rather, it must rise to the level of national and historical responsibility by moving toward a clear practical path based on unifying the national position and forming a genuine protective front for prisoners and their families, according to a defined national program that matches the scale of the threat.
At the international level, the Center affirms that what is taking place exposes a clear state of complicity, or at the very least a shameful incapacity on the part of international human rights and humanitarian institutions, which only recently engaged in intensive discourse regarding Israeli prisoners, yet are now almost entirely absent in the face of a crime being committed in broad daylight against thousands of Palestinian prisoners, before the eyes and ears of the world, without any serious action.
In light of this unprecedented escalation, the Center calls for:
First: Immediate action by the United Nations Security Council to halt the implementation of this law and to hold the occupying state accountable for this grave crime, which violates all international and humanitarian norms and conventions.
Second: The League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to overcome the state of Arab and Islamic inaction by building a unified position that includes practical and pressure-based steps at all levels.
Third: The launch of an international legal process to prosecute the occupation for this crime before international courts, with the involvement of all supporters and advocates of the Palestinian cause.
Fourth: The development of a unified Palestinian national position leading to comprehensive and escalating action to defend the lives of prisoners and to provide all means of support and assistance to them and their families.
In conclusion, the Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy stresses that any harm to the lives of prisoners will not break the will of our people, but will instead drive further confrontation, and that this crime will remain a testament to the collapse of the international justice system and its failure to protect the most basic human rights.
Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy
Monday, March 30, 2026
