“Knesset’s” Approval of Law to Create Special Court for Gaza Detainees, Including Imposition of Death Penalty - Statement by Palestinian Prisoner Institutions

May 12, 2026

The Israeli “Knesset’s” approval of a special law establishing an exceptional court for Gaza detainees whom the occupation authorities claim participated in the events of October 7, 2023 — including the imposition of the death penalty against them — constitutes a new and dangerous link in the chain of colonial legislation that entrenches the ongoing crime of genocide against the Palestinian people, including political prisoners, Palestinian prisoner institutions stated on Tuesday.

Full statement in English below

“Knesset’s” Approval of Law to Create Special Court for Gaza Detainees, Including Imposition of Death Penalty - Statement by Palestinian Prisoner Institutions
May 12, 2026
The Israeli “Knesset’s” approval of a special law establishing an exceptional court for Gaza detainees whom the occupation authorities claim participated in the events of October 7, 2023 — including the imposition of the death penalty against them — constitutes a new and dangerous link in the chain of colonial legislation that entrenches the ongoing crime of genocide against the Palestinian people, including political prisoners, Palestinian prisoner institutions stated on Tuesday.
This law represents a flagrant violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and a range of fundamental inalienable rights, foremost among them the right to life, the right to a fair trial, and due process guarantees, in addition to the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
The institutions added that the provisions contained in this law cannot be separated from the racist legislative path through which the “Knesset” had previously approved in what is known as the law permitting the execution of Palestinian prisoners. Rather, it constitutes a continuation of a systematic legislative approach aimed at providing internal legal cover for the international crimes committed against the Palestinian people. This trend further entrenches the role of the “Knesset” as one of the central instruments within the Israeli colonial-terror system, which has directly contributed to the perpetuation of genocide, the continuation of comprehensive aggression, and the targeting of Palestinian existence and national and human rights.
The institutions stressed that this law comes at a time when horrific testimonies and accounts from Palestinian political prisoners and detainees continue to emerge, documenting systematic torture, starvation crimes, medical crimes, harsh isolation, sexual assaults, and policies of slow killing carried out in an organized manner inside Israeli occupation prisons and camps. The testimonies of Gaza detainees in particular constitute direct and living evidence of the ongoing crimes committed against Palestinian prisoners and detainees over more than two and a half years, within the framework of a systematic policy amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and representing another face of the genocide taking place inside prisons. In this regard, it should be noted that many detainees from Gaza confirmed that they “confessed” to acts they did not commit under torture.
The institutions further affirmed that the Israeli occupation system’s insistence on inventing legislative tools that legitimize the death penalty within exceptional procedures lacking even the minimum standards of justice could not have continued without the state of international paralysis and the existing political and legal complicity regarding ongoing Israeli crimes, including the crime of genocide.
In light of this dangerous development, Palestinian human rights organizations emphasize that they had previously addressed dozens of appeals and communications to the relevant international bodies, warning of the danger of these laws and their legal and humanitarian consequences. Nevertheless, the occupation authorities continue to enact and approve more racist laws that undermine the international justice system and blatantly disregard all obligations imposed on the occupying power under international law.
Despite this, we reaffirm our continued calls upon free nations and international parliamentary and human rights bodies to adopt a clear and firm position toward the so-called Israeli “Knesset,” and to work immediately toward suspending or terminating its membership in international parliaments and unions, and boycotting it as a legislative institution that legitimizes genocide, incitement to violence, and systematic racial discrimination against the Palestinian people.
We also reaffirm our continued appeals to the free people of the world, based on the Palestinian people’s established and inalienable right to self-determination, national liberation, and the freedom of prisoners and detainees. We warn that the continued impunity and treatment of “Israel” as an entity above the law and accountability will not affect the Palestinian people alone, but will undermine the entire international justice system and threaten the human values for which peoples around the world have long struggled to establish and protect.
In this context, Palestinian prisoner institutions renew their demands for the following:
• Activating the principle of universal jurisdiction to prosecute Israeli officials involved in torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
• Treating the “Knesset” and Israeli occupation courts as institutions that legitimize apartheid and persecution policies, and working to isolate them internationally, including by ending their membership in international parliamentary bodies and unions.
• Ensuring the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian political prisoners.
• Ending the policy of arbitrary administrative detention as a grave violation of fair trial principles and personal liberty.
• Dismantling the Israeli occupation’s military court system, which is used as a tool of oppression and colonial control.
• Opening independent and transparent international investigations into all acts of torture and killings inside Israeli occupation prisons and detention centers.
• Ensuring full cooperation with the International Criminal Court, supporting its investigations, and implementing arrest warrants issued against those responsible for international crimes.
• Enabling the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Palestinian prisoners and detainees and review their detention conditions without any restrictions or obstacles.

**ENDS**

Invitation to Journalists and Media Outlets in Palestine

Palestinian Prisoners' Institutions and National and Islamic Forces invite you to cover a press conference in Ramallah and Al-Bireh to announce the national events planned around this year's Palestinian Prisoners' Day, held annually on April 17.

Details:
* Day: Tuesday, April 14, 2026
* Time: 11:00 AM
* Location: In front of the International Committee of the Red Cross HQ, Al-Bireh

⭕ Stop the Palestinian Prisoners’ Execution Law

Today, Addameer for Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, The Commission of Detainees Affairs, and Palestinian Prisoners Club sent an urgent letter to European Union countries regarding Israel’s recently passed death penalty law targeting Palestinian prisoners.

The letter highlights that the law is explicitly discriminatory, applies only to Palestinians, and is enforced through military courts that lack basic fair trial guarantees. It calls on the EU to take immediate, concrete measures, including suspending the EU–Israel Association Agreement, imposing targeted sanctions, and halting diplomatic and economic cooperation, to uphold international law and protect fundamental human rights.

The organizations stress that expressions of concern alone are no longer sufficient; urgent and decisive action is urgently needed to prevent further violence against Palestinians.

The full letter is attached👇

                           

Date: 31 March 2026

 

Subject: After Passing the Death Penalty Law, the EU Must Suspend the EU–Israel Association Agreement and Take Immediate Action

Your Excellencies,

We acknowledge and welcome the recent statement issued by several European countries expressing concern over the proposed expansion of the death penalty in Israel, and your reaffirmation that capital punishment is an inhumane and degrading practice that must be opposed under all circumstances.

However, we write to stress that the situation has now moved beyond the stage of a proposed bill. The law has been passed.

This development marks a grave escalation. For decades, Palestinians have been subjected to extrajudicial killings, yet this moment represents a shift toward the formalization and legalization of execution as a tool of political repression. The law enables the execution of Palestinian political prisoners, transforming prisons and detention facilities into sanctioned sites of death.

Critically, this law is inherently discriminatory and is designed to be applied exclusively against Palestinians. It entrenches a system of unequal treatment before the law and reinforces a broader regime of racialized control and punishment. Furthermore, Israeli court systems, particularly military courts used to prosecute Palestinians, lack fundamental fair trial guarantees, including independence, impartiality, and due process. In this context, the introduction of the death penalty amounts to the institutionalization of irreversible injustice.

It is imperative to stress that the Israeli Knesset has no authority to legislate over Palestinians as protected persons under international humanitarian law. Any attempt to do so constitutes a war crime and represents a flagrant, undeniable violation of international law.

While your statement highlights the “risk” of undermining democratic principles and raises concern over the discriminatory nature of the bill, the reality is that this law constitutes a direct and profound violation of fundamental human rights. It is not merely a risk; it is an enacted policy that codifies state-sanctioned killing.

 

We are further compelled to note that expressions of concern, while important, are no longer sufficient in the face of such escalation. The passage of this law, despite repeated warnings and appeals, reflects a pattern of international inaction that risks enabling further irreversible harm.

In light of this, we urge the European Union to move beyond statements and take concrete, principled action:

• Immediately suspend the EU–Israel Association Agreement as a necessary measure to uphold international legal obligations and human rights commitments.
• Impose targeted sanctions on the Israeli occupying state in response to ongoing violations of international law and the codification of execution policies.
• Suspend all forms of diplomatic, military, and economic cooperation until full compliance with international law is ensured.
• Work to isolate the Knesset and Israeli military court system in international parliamentary bodies and unions, given their role in codifying systemic discrimination and violence.

We emphasize that continued reliance on language of concern, without corresponding measures of accountability, undermines the very principles the European Union has affirmed. Upholding the universal rejection of the death penalty requires consistent and decisive action, particularly in contexts where it is deployed in a discriminatory and political manner.

Sincerely,

Addameer for Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association The Commission of Detainees Affairs

Palestinian Prisoners Club

 Central Events Program for Palestinian Prisoners’ Day 2026

📌Thursday, April 16, 2026
12:00 noon (nationwide):
* Ramallah: Al-Manara Square.
* Hebron: Ibn Rushd Roundabout.
* Jenin: The Red Cross.
* Qalqilya: Qalqilya Municipality.
* Bethlehem: Nativity Square.
* Tubas: Chamber of Commerce Hall.
* Salfit: Governorate Hall.
* Nablus: Balata Youth Center.

11:00 AM:
* Jericho: Al Madina Roundabout

📌Sunday, April 19, 2026
12:00 noon:
• Nablus: Martyrs’ Square.

#EndThePrisonersExecutionLaw

 

 April 2026 Update on Numbers of Palestinian Political Detainees in Israeli Occupation’s Prisons

▪️These figures are based on data gathered by Palestinian prisoners’ institutions including from the Israeli occupation’s prison services databases as of early April 2026.

* There are more than 9,600 Palestinian political prisoners held by the occupying state.
* Among them are 84 female prisoners.
* Some 350 children are among them, held in Megiddo and Ofer prisons.
* The number of Palestinians abducted from the occupied West Bank and are held without trial or charge, also known as “administrative detainees” is 3,532, representing the highest proportion in the prisons compared to sentenced prisoners, those awaiting trial, and those classified as “unlawful combatants.”
* The number of Palestinians abducted from occupied Gaza and are held without trial or charge under the “unlawful combatants” law is 1,251. This figure does not include all detainees from Gaza held in military camps affiliated with the occupation army. This classification also includes Arab detainees from Lebanon and Syria.

Palestinian Prisoners’ institutions

Israeli Occupation Approves Law To Execute Palestinian Political Prisoners
Palestinian Prisoner Organizations: Israeli Knesset A Terrorist Institution; its Membership in International Parliaments and Unions Must be Terminated Immediately
Palestinian Prisoners' Institutions
March 30, 2026
Ramallah, occupied Palestine — After years of relentless efforts by the Israeli settler-colonial regime to legalize the execution of Palestinian political prisoners—and amid a global order defined by paralysis and complicity, laid bare by the atrocities in occupied Gaza—the Israeli occupation has passed a law that will allow for the execution of Palestinian political prisoners.
While the Israeli occupation has for decades extrajudicially executed Palestinians, this moment marks a dangerous escalation. As ethnic cleansing intensifies, forced displacement expands, and apartheid policies deepens, Palestinian existence itself is under sustained threat, from the streets to the prisons and military camps.
The law constitutes a profound violation of fundamental human rights and exposes decades of international complicity, lack of will, failure, and refusal to hold the settler-colony of “Israel” accountable.
While global attention remains fixed on the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Israeli occupation is ushering in a new phase of openly sanctioned, politically motivated executions of Palestinian prisoners. It codifies state-sanctioned political murder and turns prisons into legalized killing grounds and central arenas of torture. Make no mistake: this law is an extension of a multi-pronged system of genocide that has targeted Palestinian existence for decades—rendering the occupation’s prisons and detention camps a direct extension of genocidal policies and a central theater for their execution.
At this critical and dangerous stage, in which our people face severe and systematic persecution, we, as Palestinian human rights groups, affirm that the occupation system has reached a level of brutality that exceeds the descriptive capacity of international human rights frameworks—frameworks that have proven entirely incapable of exerting meaningful pressure to halt the ongoing destruction and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians everywhere.
In light of this dangerous development, we, as Palestinian human rights institutions, affirm that despite the repeated appeals we have made over the past period, and the messages sent to various relevant bodies, the law has passed. Nevertheless, we will continue to call on free countries to take a clear stance toward the so-called “Knesset,” and to work immediately to terminate its membership in international parliaments and unions, and to boycott it as an institution that codifies systematic genocide and destruction of the Palestinian people, especially since the documented crime of genocide in Gaza.
We will continue to address the free people of the world with all our strength, based on the inalienable Palestinian right to self-determination, freedom, and the liberation of all political prisoners. We warn that these crimes and ongoing destruction will not be limited to the Palestinian people alone, but will extend to peoples worldwide, as long as the international community persists in complicity and in treating “Israel” as a colonial system exempt from accountability and punishment, and as an exception to the laws and humanitarian norms that peoples have long struggled to establish.

We therefore renew our demands:
* Activation of the principle of universal jurisdiction to prosecute those involved in torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed against prisoners.
* Suspension of all forms of diplomatic, military, and economic cooperation with the occupation until it fully complies with international law.
* Treating the Knesset and Israeli occupation courts as racist and terrorist institutions and working to isolate them internationally, including rejecting their membership in international parliamentary bodies and unions.
* Ensuring the immediate and unconditional release of all Palestinian political prisoners, including: Ending the policy of administrative detention, dismantling the military court system and opening independent and transparent investigations into all cases of torture and deaths in custody.
* Full cooperation with the International Criminal Court, supporting its investigations, and implementation of arrest warrants against those responsible for international crimes.
* Enabling the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit prisoners and monitor their detention conditions without restriction.
🔴Attached is a paper in English with key facts about the execution law published by Palestinian prisoner institutions one day before its passing.
https://www.ppsmo.ps/home/studies/18165?culture=ar-SA

 On Palestinian Child’s Day, marked annually on April 5, Palestinian prisoners’ institutions- Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association- publish a special report about Palestinian child detainees in the Israeli occupation’s prisons.

 Report in Arabic and English Below

#FreeThemAll
#StopTheExecutionLaw

 

Palestinian Child’s Day Highlights Escalating, Systematic Targeting of

Palestinian Children

Report by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human

Rights Association, and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

 

April 5, 2026

 

Ramallah, occupied Palestine - Palestinian childhood has never been outside the scope of Israeli occupation policies; it has been at their core. The detention of children is not exceptional or incidental, but a longstanding, systematic policy—deeply embedded over decades—reflecting a clear intent to subjugate and control an entire generation through organized repression and domination. As of April 2026, there are 350 Palestinian children detained in the occupation’s prisons.

 

Tens of thousands of Palestinian children have experienced detention—staggering figures that expose the scale and continuity of this practice. Their testimonies point to a comprehensive system of violations, carried out under legal cover and enforced with excessive violence, in disregard of age and of international child rights conventions.

 

Since the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023, occupation authorities have intensified widespread arrest campaigns across the occupied Palestinian territories. These campaigns continue to escalate, targeting all segments of Palestinian society—across cities, villages, and refugee camps—in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, as well as in the Gaza Strip. They unfold within a broader pattern of daily, terrorizing military raids and incursions into homes, streets, and military checkpoints, without distinction by age or social group, reflecting a comprehensive policy of control and sustained repression.

 

Within this context, the targeting of children stands out as one of the clearest manifestations. Palestinian childhood has entered a more acute phase of direct targeting, where detention remains a systematic, deliberate tool of pressure and control—not an exception, but an enduring policy.

 

Field data issued by Palestinian prisoners’ organizations and human rights institutions have revealed an unprecedented escalation in the arrest of children. More than 1700 cases of child detention have been documented in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, over a short period of time—an indication of the expanding scope and accelerating pace of this targeting.

 

In addition, dozens of children from the occupied Gaza Strip have been detained during the genocide, under extremely dangerous conditions that included grave violations and organized crimes, such as enforced disappearance, denial of family and lawyers’ visits, and the complete cut

 

off of any means of communication with the outside world—making it extremely difficult to determine the actual numbers or the fate of many of them.

 

These practices constitute a clear and direct violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits the arbitrary detention of children and requires that detention be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period, while ensuring humane treatment and respect for dignity. They also clearly violate Article 37, which prohibits torture and cruel or inhuman treatment, and guarantees the child’s right to maintain contact with their family and to access legal assistance. Moreover, these practices breach the principles of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which mandate special protection for children as civilians and prohibit any form of abuse or neglect against them.

 

The First Moments of Arrest

 

The first moment of arrest often begins with a violent and sudden attack, usually in the early pre- dawn hours, when occupation forces break into homes without any prior warning. Families wake to the sounds of explosions and doors blown open, accompanied by heavily-armed, often masked, soldiers, shouting and raiding every corner of the house, creating an atmosphere of fear and chaos—especially for children facing such a harsh experience. Children are forced awake from their sleep amid direct threats and a heavy military presence.

 

During the raid, the child and their family are informed of the arrest decision. In many cases, children—particularly those who are ill or injured—are denied access to their medication or necessary medical care, further exacerbating their health conditions.

 

Following this, children are taken out of their homes into military vehicles, where they are handcuffed and subjected to strict restraints on their movement. During transport—often involving passage through multiple checkpoints and military facilities—some are subjected to beatings or harsh treatment, in addition to being held for long hours without food or water.

 

In many cases, children are transferred while blindfolded, deepening their sense of fear and confusion and leaving severe psychological effects from the very first moments of detention. Cases of enforced disappearance of children from the occupied Gaza Strip have also been documented, amid a lack of any information regarding their whereabouts or conditions of detention.

 

Interrogation Rooms Under Genocide: A Systematic Policy of Retaliation Against Childhood

 

The interrogation phase is one of the harshest stages in the experience of child detention within occupation prisons, as it is conducted in an environment designed to break their will and extract confessions from them as part of a systematic and consistent policy. Children are held in conditions that lack even the most basic necessities of life and are subjected to prolonged hours of continuous interrogation without the presence of their parents or a lawyer. Testimonies indicate that this stage is often exploited to psychologically intimidate the child and pressure them into confessing under the weight of isolation and fear.

 

The severity of these violations has escalated dangerously in the context of the genocide, as children have been subjected to even more tragic conditions inside closed and harsh interrogation rooms, where deprivation of sleep and rest is intensified.

 

These practices reinforce a reality that completely disregards the specific needs of the child and their right to humane treatment, turning interrogation into a repressive tool that extends beyond pre-genocide practices, but under far more brutal and unrestrained conditions.

 

Thus, the interrogation period—supposed to be a legal procedure—turns into a space of systematic violations aimed at undermining the rights of the child. This policy, which has intensified under the genocide, leaves deep and lasting impacts on children’s lives and futures as a result of continuous pressure and a detention environment that lacks the most basic human rights.

 

Palestinian Children in Occupation Prisons Face Systematic Violations

 

Inside Israeli central prisons and military camps, Palestinian children face harsh detention conditions that constitute a systematic violation of their fundamental rights. These conditions include severe overcrowding in poorly ventilated rooms, shortages of clothing and blankets, as well as near-total restrictions on their movement and the confiscation of their personal belongings.

 

For over two and a half years, children have been completely denied contact with their families, further deepening their isolation and intensifying the psychological impact of detention, amid ongoing raids and repression within the prison sections.

 

Violations linked to denial of medical care are also escalating amid a severe lack of health services and the denial of appropriate treatment for children. Overcrowding and the lack of hygiene supplies have led to the spread of skin diseases, most notably scabies, while medical responses are often limited to providing inadequate painkillers or delaying treatment, along with the refusal to transfer serious cases to hospitals.

 

Children also suffer from food deprivation as part of a policy of starvation, which has negatively affected their health and led to the worsening or emergence of new illnesses, within detention conditions that threaten both their physical and psychological well-being.

 

Detention Without Charge: Enforced Disappearance of Children Behind the Cells of Administrative Detention

 

Administrative detention of Palestinian children is considered one of the most egregious manifestations of the repressive system, whereby a child – like adults - is held without charge or trial, based on what is referred to as a “secret file.” This policy, long adopted by the occupation as a tool of collective punishment, repression, and control, has undergone a profound shift and historic escalation in the context of the genocide, as prison doors have been opened to thousands of Palestinians under this designation—children among them bearing a significant share of this systematic abuse.

 

Within this expansion, the number of children held under administrative detention has reached unprecedented levels. Palestinian human rights organizations have never previously recorded such figures, with approximately 180 children currently held under administrative detention—reflecting a clear intent to disappear an entire generation behind bars without any legal justification or defined timeline for release.

 

A child held under administrative detention lives in a state of continuous psychological torment, facing uncertainty every minute of every day. Detention orders are often renewed at the very last moment before the expected release, depriving both the child and their family of any sense of stability or hope. In the context of the genocide, the number of administrative detainees has surged dramatically, accompanied by total isolation and denial of visits or communication with the outside world—leaving children especially vulnerable to policies of starvation, abuse, and intimidation within the cells.

 

The targeting of children through administrative detention at this scale confirms that the occupation is in clear violation of all international conventions prohibiting the detention of minors without trial. With the total number of administrative detainees in prisons reaching 3442 it becomes evident that this policy has become a central pillar within the genocide—aimed at dismantling the Palestinian social fabric and targeting childhood itself.

 

Walid Ahmad: The Palestinian Child Who Starved to Death

 

Walid Khaled Ahmad, from the town of Silwad near Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, was a detained Palestinian child who starved to death in Megiddo Prison in March 2025.

 

His case constitutes a stark example of inhumane and dangerous policies of starvation, deprivation, and ill-treatment against minor detainees, within a broader context of violations affecting prisoners. According to documented medical autopsy reports, the findings revealed severe physical deterioration, including extreme emaciation, and the absence of muscle mass and subcutaneous fat, along with indicators of malnutrition, dehydration, intestinal infections, and infection with scabies—reflecting a gradual health collapse inside detention.

 

The occupation recently announced the closure of the investigation into the circumstances of his murder under the pretext of “exhausting all legal procedures,” despite the serious findings outlined in the medical reports of starvation and health deterioration. This reflects a continued pattern of disregarding medical evidence and obscuring accountability for crimes committed against child detainees within prisons, in the complete absence of oversight and accountability for such violations.

 

Testimonies of Children from Inside Occupation Prisons

 

Child (Q.N.), who was arrested from his home on January 7, 2026, recounts that he was severely beaten before being handcuffed, blindfolded, and transferred to a military camp, then to Megiddo Prison. He reports repeated assaults both during transport and inside the prison.

 

He confirms that the minors’ section in prison is subjected to frequent raids and beatings, amid severe cold, overcrowding, and a shortage of clothing and insufficient food. They also face restrictions on outdoor time (“fora”) and access to showers, along with a lack of basic supplies and constant disturbing lighting. He further points to the absence of adequate care and the existence of designated rooms for scabies patients under harsh detention conditions.

 

In the same context, child (M.S.), who was arrested from his home in Bethlehem on February 19, 2025, at the age of just 15, was later placed under arbitrary administrative detention without trial or charge. He recounts that his arrest began at dawn with a home raid, after which he was transferred to Etzion detention center, then to Al-Moskobiya detention center in occupied Jerusalem, where he underwent a 21-day period of detention and interrogation before being transferred to Megiddo Prison.

 

Since then, he has been held in an overcrowded minors’ section (Section 8), with six to 10 prisoners per room, forcing some to sleep on the floor. There is a clear shortage of blankets, towels, and basic necessities, in addition to a very short daily outdoor period that does not exceed half an hour, with limited facilities including a small number of bathrooms shared among several rooms.

 

He also suffers from dental pain without receiving treatment, pain relief, or referral to a clinic, amid repeated raids and acts of repression within the section—making the conditions of detention in Megiddo harsh and ongoing, particularly as he is a child held under administrative detention.

 

Similarly, the detained child (A.K.), aged 17, describes a harsh detention trajectory from the moment of arrest, extending from checkpoints to detention centers and then to closed facilities.

 

He states: “I was completely stripped of my clothes, handcuffed, blindfolded, and thrown onto the ground,” adding, “I remained sitting on my knees for hours and was subjected to continuous severe beatings.”

 

He describes this phase as filled with humiliation and both physical and psychological violence, with repeated transfers between unknown detention locations and extremely harsh conditions from the very first hours.

 

Later, he recounts the brutal detention system inside the prisons, describing his first days: “I was handcuffed to the front and blindfolded 24 hours a day, even while eating and showering,” along with “very poor food in extremely small quantities” and repeated deprivation of hygiene and rest. He also describes weekly repressive raids involving “firing bombs inside the rooms, random beatings, and forcing prisoners to lie on the ground,” in addition to harsh interrogations that included “beatings, threats, electric shocks, and loud music as psychological torture,” within an environment he describes as based on continuous humiliation and systematic violence throughout detention.

 

Children from the occupied Gaza Strip have not been spared from widespread arrest campaigns during the genocide. Several were detained and transferred to military detention facilities. Among these testimonies is that of child (F.Sh.), born in 2010, who was a school student prior to his arrest.

 

He recounts being arrested in Khan Younis alongside four others, stating: “They arrested me with four people, and I was the only child among them. Then they handed us over to the army, which transferred us to Sde Teiman camp.” He adds that he was placed in barracks with adult detainees and another child, describing life there as “pure humiliation,” noting that he remained for approximately 40 days “handcuffed in front with iron restraints, without blindfolds.”

 

He describes daily life inside the camp, stating that “food is scarce and water is scarce,” with meals consisting of “sliced toast bread with a small amount of jam or tuna that does not satisfy hunger.” Sleeping conditions were extremely harsh: “You sleep on a very thin mattress, as if you are lying on stones,” while blankets were only provided at night despite severe daytime cold. Showering was permitted “twice a day for only a few minutes.”

 

He further recounts that raids and repression occurred “about once a week,” during which detainees were forced to the ground, restrained tightly, and beaten. He states that he was interrogated twice, each session lasting about an hour, noting: “There was no special treatment for me—they treated me like the adults.” He remained in Sde Teiman until his eventual release.

 

With the continuation of grave violations against Palestinian children in places of detention, coinciding with Palestinian Child’s Day, our organizations affirm that the arbitrary detention of children, the harsh conditions of confinement, and degrading treatment constitute a flagrant violation of international law—particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child—and amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

 

We stress that our primary demand is the immediate and unconditional release of all detained Palestinian children, as their detention in itself constitutes an unlawful violation. We further call on third states to take urgent action to compel the occupying power to halt all violations against children, ensure their protection, and respect and implement the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of the occupation, in addition to enforcing accountability for all crimes committed against Palestinian children.

 

*********

ONGOING URGENT APPEAL: STOP THE EXECUTION OF PALESTINIAN PRISONERS’ LAW

Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Commission of Detainees’ Affairs & Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association

March 29, 2026

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – On Monday, March 30, the Israeli occupation’s proposed “Prisoners’ Execution Law” is expected to be brought forward for its second and third readings in the Knesset, with a high likelihood of passage—despite sustained global appeals and unequivocal warnings from international human rights institutions condemning its adoption.
If enacted, this bill will mark a historic escalation—a new phase of openly sanctioned, politically motivated executions of Palestinian prisoners. It codifies state-sanctioned political murder and turns prisons into legalized killing grounds and central arenas of torture. Make no mistake: its passage would make it an extension of a multi-pronged system of genocide that has targeted Palestinian existence for decades—rendering the occupation’s prisons and detention camps a direct extension of genocidal policies and a central theater for their execution.
The law constitutes a profound violation of fundamental human rights and exposes decades of international complicity, lack of will, failure, and refusal to hold the settler-colony of “Israel” accountable. After years of calculated advancement by the regime—now reaching its brutal apex amid the genocide—this bill has become inseparable from the government’s political survival. The gallows are no longer symbolic; they are being institutionalized as a central tool of oppression and settler-colonial violence.
Under the most “extreme” and openly ideological government in the settler-colony’s history, the drive to pass this law has accelerated with alarming force. Led by minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and backed by a dominant right-wing bloc in the Knesset, the government has staked its very survival on its passage, with full backing from Benjamin Netanyahu—elevating the execution of prisoners into an explicit political doctrine and a defining pillar of the regime.
For decades, occupation authorities have practiced extrajudicial killing as a sustained policy—now risen to unprecedented levels. This includes targeted assassinations, a “shoot-to-kill” policy and sniper fire. Alongside these overt acts, a quieter but equally lethal system of both slow and direct killings operates within prisons, camps, and interrogation centers, where neglect, abuse, and torture systematically claim lives. Since the start of the genocide alone, more than 100 prisoners have been killed behind bars—marking the deadliest period in the history of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement.



Based on information gathered by our organizations and others, here is an initial set of facts surrounding the execution of Palestinian prisoners bill:
• The law will not be applied retroactively; it will only take effect after its implementation.
• It will include two separate court systems: Military courts in the 1967-occupied Palestinian territories and civilian courts in the 1948-occupied Palestinian territories (“Israel”).
• In “Israeli” military courts, Palestinian prisoners “convicted” of carrying out armed operations resulting in the death of an “Israeli” would face a mandatory death sentence, unless the court identifies exceptional circumstances warranting commutation to life imprisonment.
o Prisoners would retain the right to appeal; however, rulings would be decided by a simple majority rather than unanimity, and judges would not be required to hold senior military rank.
• In “Israeli” civil courts, however, a prisoner "convicted" carrying out armed operations resulting in the death of an “Israeli” faces a sentence of either life imprisonment or death; this legal hierarchy effectively transforms the death penalty into a primary and fundamental punishment against Palestinians.
• Although this law will not apply to prisoners detained in connection with October 7, 2023 whom the occupation classifies as “elite,” a Knesset committee has approved a separate bill titled the "Law on the Trial of Participants in the October 7 Events." This bill establishes a special military tribunal that is likewise empowered to impose the death penalty, alongside other measures.
This push to formalize the execution of Palestinian prisoners is not incidental—it is the logical continuation and legal codification of ongoing, unchecked genocidal mass violence and erasure. The law is one among a wide arsenal of measures designed to entrench domination, crush Palestian society, and normalize the systematic murder of Palestinians. The occupation’s prisons and detention camps are not merely sites of imprisonment—they are central infrastructures of state murder and violence. Stop the execution of Palestinian political prisoners’s law before it is too late.
#STOPTHEEXECUTIONOFPALESTINIANPRISONERS #FREETHEMALL