PALESTINE’S LEGAL SCENE – Issue. 326

Your weekly survey of the most important publications and activities related to Palestine and law, from local and international sources

29 March – 4 April 2026

Issued every Sunday by Law for Palestine

Prepared by: Arwa Abdel Moniam, Murad Abu Murad, and Ahmad Al Rjoub

Translation: Aseel Ghabayen and Mai Shaheen

Editing: Widad Hussein 

This weekly report reviews the legal dynamics of the Palestine question, and everything related to international law and Palestine. The report includes an account of the most important publications, activities and conferences related to Palestine at the local, regional, international levels. The report further covers decisions, decrees, and judicial orders affecting the Palestinian cause, whether made at the official, academic or public levels. The report aims to be a reference for monitoring, documenting and archiving the latest human rights developments related to Palestine, and to present them to individuals, researchers, study centers, and official, academic and legal institutions concerned.

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Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by official Palestinian bodies:

• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the West Bank is witnessing an unprecedented escalation of settler violence, considering it a systematic approach aimed at imposing facts on the ground and undermining the two-state solution. The ministry stated that what is happening is no longer merely isolated “acts of violence,” but rather constitutes “organized terrorism” carried out by armed settler groups, often under the protection of Israeli forces. (March 31, 2026)
• The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, sent three identical letters to UN officials regarding the worsening plight of Palestinians, including women and children, who are being illegally arrested and arbitrarily detained in Israeli prisons. (March 31, 2026)
• The Palestinian Presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Council condemned the Israeli Knesset’s passage of the law permitting the execution of Palestinian prisoners, considering this invalid legislation a grave violation of international humanitarian law and a dangerous precedent of systematic impunity. (April 1, 2026)
• The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the vote by the UK Parliament in support of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. (April 2, 2026)

Judicial decrees, decisions, positions, and orders issued by Arab, European, and international bodies:

• EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy KajaKallas described the decision by Israeli police to bar Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday as a violation of religious freedom and long-standing protections governing holy sites. (March 29, 2026)
• The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) expressed concern over the sharp rise in the eviction of Palestinian families in areas surrounding Jerusalem’s Old City, and the increase in violations across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. AjithSunghay, OHCHR’s top official in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, explained that evictions have been ongoing for years but have intensified since the 7 October 2023 attacks. (March 30, 2026)
• The United Nations Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR) called on Israel to promptly repeal the death penalty law passed by the Knesset, considering it patently inconsistent with its obligations under international law and a violation of the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged Israel to repeal the law, stating that it reinstates the death penalty in terms applicable almost exclusively to Palestinians, raises serious concerns about due process violations, and is deeply discriminatory. (March 30–31, 2026)
• The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and settler attacks in Gaza and the West Bank are causing deaths, displacement, and property damage, while ongoing pressure continues to force Palestinians to leave their homes. (March 30, 2026)
• The foreign ministers of Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Kuwait strongly condemned the ongoing restrictions imposed by Israel on freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem. These include preventing Muslim worshippers from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, as well as barring the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to hold Palm Sunday Mass. (March 31, 2026)
• Spain condemned the approval by the Knesset of the death penalty law in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, stating that the law entails explicit discrimination against the Palestinian people and threatens the fundamental right to life. It added that the law undermines essential guarantees of due process and points to an unlawful exercise of Israeli jurisdiction in the occupied Palestinian territories. (March 31, 2026)
• Slovenia expressed its strong opposition to the death penalty in all times and circumstances. It also stated that the Israeli death penalty law, approved by the Israeli Knesset, raises serious concerns under international law, noting the discriminatory nature of the law enacted against Palestinians in the occupied territories. (March 31, 2026)
• In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, along with separate statements from the Sultanate of Oman and Kuwait, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, condemned the Knesset’s approval of a law permitting the application of the death penalty in the West Bank against Palestinians, warning that it constitutes a dangerous escalation that entrenches discrimination and apartheid. (April 2, 2026)
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Palestine announced that Israeli forces killed at least 106 Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during the month of March, and that around 13,000 people were displaced in the West Bank. It also recorded more than 150 armed attacks, averaging over six attacks per day, while humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza were constrained due to difficult field conditions. (April 2, 2026)
• UN experts said that Israel’s new law, effectively providing for the death penalty solely against Palestinians constitutes a discriminatory regime of capital punishment and manifestly violates Israel’s obligations under international human rights law, and called for its immediate repeal. (April 2, 2026)
• The Council of the League of Arab States, in its resolutions issued at the conclusion of the extraordinary session held at the level of permanent representatives at the League’s headquarters in Cairo, under the chairmanship of Bahrain, called for Arab, Islamic, and international action—at the level of states, parliaments, and organizations—to save the city of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites through political, diplomatic, economic, and legal measures. (April 2, 2026)
• The Governing Body of the International Labour Organization voted by an overwhelming majority in favor of granting the State of Palestine observer status with all the privileges of member states, except for the right to vote and to run for leadership positions. The decision came following an objection raised by the United States delegation to a previous conference resolution held last June. The decision was supported by 49 members, opposed solely by the United States, while four countries—namely the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Lithuania—abstained. (April 2, 2026)

Publications of human rights NGOs:

• B’Tselem stated that Israel’s imposition of the death penalty institutionalizes and legalizes the state’s mechanism for executing Palestinians, adding that the death penalty law adds another official killing mechanism to existing practices, under a policy of mass arrests of Palestinians as part of an apartheid regime. (March 29, 2026)
• The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) stated in a press release issued on the 50th anniversary of Land Day that this year’s commemoration comes under the most dangerous and harshest conditions since the Nakba of 1948. The Palestinian NGO Network also issued a statement on the same topic. (March 30, 2026)
• The Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Advocacy strongly condemned the Israeli occupation Knesset’s passage of what is termed the “Prisoner Execution Law,” describing it as a step that represents an official transition to a phase of legalized killing against Palestinian prisoners inside prisons. (March 30, 2026)
• Amnesty International said that the Israeli authorities must urgently repeal legislative amendments expanding the use of the death penalty adopted by the Knesset, considering that they reflect cruelty, discrimination, and a blatant disregard for human rights, effectively granting a carte blanche to execute Palestinians. Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnès Callamard added that the adoption of the law is another demonstration of Israel’s apartheid system and its unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said that the law would be applied primarily, if not exclusively, to Palestinians. (March 31, 2026)
• The Adalah Legal Center announced that it had filed an urgent petition to the Israeli Supreme Court, together with the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel , HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Physicians for Human Rights Israel , Gisha-Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, and members of the Knesset, demanding that the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, 2026 be declared null and void on the grounds that it constitutes a complete negation of the right to life. (March 31, 2026)
• The Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said that Israeli authorities must seize this moment, while the High Court considers the matter, to overhaul their system for registering international aid organizations. He stressed that the duty to enable and support humanitarian relief for civilians under occupation is clear and unconditional under international humanitarian law. (March 31, 2026)
• The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) stated that the Israeli colonial system systematically uses enforced disappearance, mass killing, genocide, coercion, and electronic surveillance to suppress resistance, adding that the recent legislative escalation comes within a broader context of colonial violence against Palestinians. (April 1, 2026)
• The organization Independent Jewish Voices expressed its condemnation of the death penalty law against Palestinians, which was approved by Israel, and called on Canada to take immediate action to hold Israel accountable. The law was also condemned by the World Organisation Against Torture. (April 1, 2026)

Opinion Pieces and features:

• +972 published an article by Nour Dadoush, titled: “Fifty years on, does Land Day still matter for Palestinians in Israel?”.(March 30, 2026)
• Mondoweiss publishedan opinion piece by QasimMuadi, titled: “Israeli policies pose an existential threat to Palestinians in the West Bank. Why isn’t there more resistance?“. (March 31, 2026)
• Al-Shabaka published an article by Amjad Al-Iraqi, titled: “Israel’s Scorched Earth Doctrine“. (March 31, 2026)
• The +972 Magazine published an article by Jared Hillel, titled: “They already shoot us for no reason. Now they have a death penalty’”. (March 31, 2026)
• The Conversation published an article by Shannon Bosch, titled: “New Israeli law could mean death penalty by default for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks”. (March 31, 2026)
• Just Security published an article by EliavLieblich, Yael Ronen, Michal Saliternik and Yuval Shany, titled: “Statement by Israeli International Law Scholars Concerning Israel’s New “Death Penalty for Terrorists” Law”.(March 31, 2026)
• Mondoweisspublished an opinion article by Salman Abu Sitta, titled: “Israel may dominate through violence, but Palestinians hold a force more powerful”.(April 1,2026)
• Mondoweiss published an opinion piece by abdalJawad Omar, titled: “‘The rope is for Arabs only’: Israel’s new death penalty law for Palestinians recycles a colonial playbook”. (April 2, 2026)
• The Guardian published an opinion article by Yuli Novak, titled: “Israel’s death penalty law marks a new phase in its dehumanisation of Palestinians”.(April 2, 2026)
• AlJazeera published an article by Mariam Barghouti, titled: “Israel’s death penalty law is not about executing Palestinians”. (April 2, 2026)
• Al-Araby Al-Jadeed published an article by ZiadBarakat, titled: “Executing Prisoners Does Not Require a Law”.(April 2, 2026)
• The Palestine Chronicle published an article by Omar Zahzah, titled: “A Question of Violence: Palestine in American Academia After October 7”.(April 3, 2026)

Research and academic studies (in Arabic and English):

• The SAGE Journals published a research paper by Mohamed wesam Amer and others titled: “Protection of Palestinian journalists: Analysing Israeli violations during the Gaza War 2023–2025 within the framework of international humanitarian law.” (2026)

Legal Achievements/Impacts for Palestine:

• Palestinian human rights organizations welcomed the news of the withdrawal of the Italian energy company (Eni) from its energy partnership with the Israeli company (Ratio Energies), thereby ending its plans to exploit gas in the exclusive economic zone of the State of Palestine. (April 3, 2026)