Türkiye condemns Israeli death penalty law targeting Palestinians

Foreign Ministry calls legislation 'unlawful, null and void,' urging international community, UN to respond to Israel’s 'racist and unlawful steps'

Türkiye on Tuesday condemned a death penalty law approved by the Israeli Knesset that would apply exclusively to Palestinians. In a statement on its official website, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the legislation is "aimed at further entrenching the occupying power Israel’s apartheid regime against Palestinians, constitutes a continuation of policies of denial, annihilation, and political executions targeting the Palestinian people and is unlawful and null and void." The statement also called on the international community, including the United Nations, to respond to Israel’s “racist and unlawful steps." The bill was approved in second and third readings by 62 votes against 47, and one abstention, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voted in support of the law. Following the vote, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir welcomed the legislation, calling it “a historic day.”