The European Union (EU) and Germany have expressed serious concerns over the Israeli parliament's new law on mandatory death sentences for crimes classified as terrorism.
The law, approved by a vote of 62 to 48, stipulates that Palestinians in the West Bank convicted of deadly attacks by a military court can be sentenced to death.
The move has sparked controversy because it is seen as not applicable to Israeli citizens in the same situation.
In a joint statement, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom criticized the law as discriminatory.
They stressed that the different approaches to the two groups of people were contrary to the principles of universal justice.
Meanwhile, an EU Commission spokesperson described the decision as a setback from Israel's previous stance of a moratorium on the death penalty.
The EU sees the move as incompatible with international human rights standards.
From Germany's perspective, the Commissioner for Human Rights also voiced that the law in question contradicts the principles of the rule of law and democratic values that European countries have long upheld.
The new provision also gives military court judges the power to impose the death penalty by simple majority without the need for a unanimous decision.
In addition, the sentence must be carried out within 90 days of conviction.
At the same time, human rights groups have warned that the law has the potential to trigger a legal challenge in the Israeli Supreme Court in the near future, thus opening the way for a broader debate on justice and human rights in the region.
