Amman, April 1 (Petra) – Lower House Speaker Mazen Qadi said on Wednesday the approval by Israel's Knesset of legislation imposing the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners is "vindictive, enshrines racism and demonstrates a blatant display of brutality and discrimination" by the occupation government and parliament.

The law, passed by the Knesset on Monday, is "a fully-fledged crime, a flagrant disregard for human rights and a dangerous slide towards further extremism and state terrorism," he said in a statement.

"This legislation is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and all relevant international human rights conventions, given its direct targeting of Palestinian prisoners and the threat it poses to the lives of thousands of prisoners through turning detention centers into execution grounds under a false legal guise," said Qadi.

The passage of the law, he said, establishes a dangerous precedent of impunity and enshrines a discriminatory system that puts the international community before a true test of its legal and moral responsibilities.

The head of the Lower House called on relevant international institutions to shoulder their responsibility and take immediate and effective action to halt "this serious violation," adopt deterrent measures to hold the occupying authority accountable, and provide urgent international protection for prisoners.

He stressed support for all legal action to expose "this criminal law and its practices," calling on parliaments worldwide to move immediately to suspend the Knesset's membership in international parliamentary forums, particularly the Inter-Parliamentary Union, given that the legislation represents a gross violation of all parliamentary and humanitarian values.

//Petra//SS