Protest against the law authorizing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly terrorist acts, in front of the offices of the Red Cross in Ramallah, West Bank, March 31, 2026. ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP
In the West Bank and Gaza, the traditional gatherings organized to highlight the cause of Palestinian prisoners were more somber than usual on Tuesday, March 31. Hundreds of families took to the streets to express their anger and concern after the Israeli Parliament had adopted, the previous day, a law introducing the death penalty for Palestinians accused of deadly anti-Israeli attacks. The legislation provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homicide against an Israeli "with the intent to end the existence of the State of Israel." For Palestinians in the West Bank, the death penalty becomes the default punishment whenever the act is classified as "terrorism" by the Israeli military courts.
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'With God's help, we will kill our enemies': Israel introduces death penalty for Palestinians accused of 'terrorist' murders
In videos shared by local media, the seriousness on the faces of families holding large photos of their relatives languishing in Israeli prisons is apparent. "We did not sleep last night because of this decision," said the mother of a detainee from the West Bank. "This law has been under discussion for 16 months and no one has reacted – no Arab country, no authority here, no one has opposed it."
