CAIRO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Eight Muslim-majority countries strongly condemned a new Israeli law that allows the death penalty for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a joint statement released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar rejected the law's "de facto application against Palestinians," warning against "the increasingly discriminatory, escalating Israeli practices that entrench a system of apartheid."
Passed by the Israeli parliament on Monday, this legislation applies the death penalty to Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis with the intent to harm the state, but not to Israelis who kill Palestinians. The ministers called the law, introduced by members of Israel's far-right coalition government, "a dangerous escalation" that risks "further exacerbating tensions and undermining regional stability."
They also expressed deep concern over reported abuses against Palestinian detainees, including "torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, starvation, and the denial of basic rights."
The ministers called for stronger international efforts to uphold stability and prevent further deterioration, according to the joint statement. ■
