Palestine’s Ambassador to Ireland has urged the EU to impose trade sanctions on Israel for its introduction of the death penalty for Palestinian terrorism. 

Yesterday, the Knesset passed legislation that would make the death penalty the default punishment for a Palestinian convicted in an Israeli military court of fatal terror attacks. 

The bill also requires that the sentence is carried out within 90 days, with a postponement of 180 days possible. 

Limor Son-Har-Melech, a legislator whose husband was killed by a Palestinian gunman, said the law was necessary to protect the lives of innocent Israelis. 

She noted that the man who killed her husband was later released from prison and went on to take part in the October 7th attacks. 

"For years, we endured a cruel cycle of terror, imprisonment, release in reckless deals and the return of these human monsters to murder Jews again," she said, urging her colleagues to pass the bill. 

Since the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, the death sentence has been carried out only once - on the high ranking Nazi Adolf Eichmann. 

The bureaucratic mastermind behind the Holocaust; Eichmann was captured by the IDF hiding away in Argentina, brought to stand trial in Jerusalem and then hanged in 1962.   

Adolf Eichmann on trial in Jerusalem. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland Dr Jilan Abdalmajid described the legislation as a violation of international law and the Geneva Convention. 

“The celebration that we saw yesterday after passing the bill, that reflects seriously how the Israeli far-right Government feel about this,” she said. 

“And really, the persistence of the attacks on Palestinians and and its injustice.” 

Dr Abdalmajid said she was against violence against Israelis, but argued there is “no accountability” in many cases when Palestinians are killed by members of the IDF. 

“How many Palestinians since Israel colonised Palestine were killed?” she asked. 

“They were attacked, killed and imprisoned. 

“How many thousands of Palestinians put in jail without treatment or… severely tortured and killed?

“It's inhumane killing.” 

Israeli Settlements in the West Bank. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Dr Abdalmajid urged the international community to “put pressure” on the Israeli Government and said she was disappointed with the response of the EU to the bill. 

Article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement notes that the relationship is “based on respect for human rights and democratic principles”. 

“Reading about the association agreement between Israel and the EU, the clause for human rights, it's a way to put pressure over Israel,” she suggested. 

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has called on the Israeli Government not to implement the law. 

“The right to life is a fundamental human right and Ireland is consistently and strongly opposed to the use of the death penalty in all cases and in all circumstances,” she said. 

“I am particularly concerned about the de facto discriminatory nature of the Bill as it relates to Palestinians.”

The EU said it “encourages Israel to abide by its previous principled position, with its obligations under international law, as well as its commitment to democratic principles”.

Main image: Ursula von der Leyen and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah. Picture by: Alamy.com.