United for Palestine Nicosia has called a protest outside the Israeli embassy in Nicosia on Wednesday, April 8, at 6pm to condemn a new Israeli law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians.
In a press release issued on April 6, the group said the law was passed by the Israeli Knesset on March 30 and described it as an “apartheid law” that “enshrines the death penalty by hanging of Palestinians”, including citizens of Israel and residents of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The group said the law made the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians found guilty by Israeli military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as acts of terrorism. It also alleged that Israel routinely detains Palestinians without charge or trial and extracts confessions under duress, including from children.
UfP said the measure would not apply to Israeli Jewish perpetrators accused of similar crimes and that it established “clear racial separation”. According to the group, the law applies only to Palestinians in the West Bank and does not extend to violent Israeli settlers, while changes to Israel’s Penal Code effectively exclude Israeli Jewish perpetrators within Israel itself.
The group said the law violated international humanitarian law and international human rights law and called for its repeal.
It also called on President Nikos Christodoulides to speak out against the law and urged an end to what it described as the Cyprus government’s complicity and the growing relations between Cyprus and Israel.
UfP noted that European politicians, including EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius, had already spoken out against the law.
Calling on supporters to attend, the group said: “Join us on Wednesday 8th April at 6pm outside the Israeli embassy. Bring your placards and whatever you have to make noise. Let us make our voices heard!”