‘Step toward apartheid’: Spanish PM condemns Israeli death penalty for Palestinian terrorists

Joining other European leaders, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemns legislation passed by the Knesset this week mandating the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

In a Spanish-language post on X, Sanchez calls the legislation “an asymmetric measure that would not be applied to Israelis who commit the same crimes.”

“Same crime, different punishment. That is not justice. It is another step toward apartheid. The world cannot remain silent,” he adds.

The newly passed law effectively enshrines capital punishment only for Palestinians convicted of deadly terrorist acts by military courts, as it explicitly excludes Israeli citizens, and only Palestinians are tried in military courts. Israelis are tried in civilian courts.

Though a separate provision allows courts to impose the death penalty on anyone, including Israeli citizens, it applies only to those who “intentionally cause the death of a person with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel” — a definition designed to exclude Jewish terrorists.