A new Israeli law calls for all Palestinian hostages including children to be executed by hanging, electric chair, and/or poison has been passed. It would be carried out after 90 days of passing laws with no right for an appeal. The law also applies to 20 Lebanese hostages taken in Lebanon last year but the law does not apply to Israeli lawless settlers or IDF terrorist soldiers who murdered Palestinians.

Israel is currently holding about 9,300 Palestinian hostages for many years without charges or trial. 5,000 of them were detained in Gaza during the war while the others were arrested during raids in the West Bank or at checkpoint or re-arrested released prisoners.  

These people are illegally held and they deserve the right to freedom from the Israeli concentration camps. Basic element of democracy required Israel to either charge or release them immediately.

National Minister of Security Itamar Ben Gvir, who is in charge of the Israel Prison Service, brags in TV puff pieces and on social media about the inhumane treatment of Palestinians in these facilities. He is not alone. The entire Israeli system has rallied to shield the people designing and implementing this policy from any accountability.

Based on a report by five international Human Right NGOs who were assisted by 3 Israeli Human Rights group including BT'Selem, the report exposed Israeli crimes and it was supposed to be classified. The West does not want the report to see the daylight or published based on what was leaked from the report shows the inhumane condition Gazans are going through and repressive policies practiced by the IDF in Gaza. Among the highlights of the report:

* 112 Palestinian women from Gaza were systematically raped by IDF soldiers in prisoner.

* 3 young girls were raped and lost their virginity in prison.

* A 17 y/o old was raped and got pregnant. The girl was adopted by an Italian Church and flew her to Italy.

* 87 hostages were executed in prison by being shot point blank in the head and their bodies were dumped into Gaza.

* 213 Israeli AF pilots refused to bomb high-rise residential buildings that have 48 children.

* Other Israeli pilots bombed the tower killing most of the children.

* The IDF made over 3 million phone calls into Gaza asking the people "Where are the hostages or we are bombing your homes?"

* Two rich oil Arab countries paid South Africa a large amount of cash to entice South Africa to drop war crimes charges against Israel.

* The Israeli Death Forces stole $370 million in cash, gold, and silver from Gaza since October 7, 2023. 

* 670 civilians were killed and 2,500 homes were destroyed by the IDF after the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025.

* 5000 Palestinian women suffered classical hysteria due to the loss of their children.

* From day one of the war the Israeli Air Force targeted the homes of 150,000 fighters in Gaza for total destruction.

* Human rights experts say the hostages endure far worse treatment than those of Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and the Black Hole. 

A special thank you for Mohammad Najeeb Kawash from occupied Palestine (1948) who published this stunning report after it was translated into Arabic.

B’Tselem released this month a new figure and testimonies revealing the extent of violence employed against Palestinians in Israeli prisons, which function as a network of torture camps: systematic abuse, including physical and psychological violence, inhuman conditions, deliberate starvation and denial of medical treatment, resulting in many deaths. Some released prisoners recounted undergoing or witnessing sexual violence.

The abduction of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who was detained in his medical uniform and placed inside a tank, is a stark example of civilians being held as hostages rather than conventional prisoners of war. According to campaign coordinator Adnan Hmidan, the initiative spread rapidly and drew notable interaction in countries including Canada, Australia, and Sweden, prompting organizers to intensify efforts and sustain the mobilization.

* Take part in the "Red Ribbon" campaign.

* Chage your profile to bring attention to the hostages' dilemma.

* Talk about them, write, call, and be their voice to the world.

* Support the Red Ribbon's campaign launched by a global digital mobilization on Thursday evening calling for the release of Palestinian hostages amid escalating abuses committed by Israeli occupation authorities inside prisons.

Data from Palestinian detainee affairs institutions indicate that as of early 2026, Israeli authorities are holding around 9,300 Palestinians in their prisons, including 350 minors and 49 women.

Perusing justice means that Jewish terrorist thugs in the West Bank and in the Knesset, like those of the racist Jewish Power party, should also be hung for murder of non-Jews. Israel is responsible for worldwide antisemitism by treating others who aren't Jewish the way non-Jews in history treated Jews.

From the self-proclaimed only democracy in the Middle East! It is easy to see that everything described in this proposed bill conflicts with the principles of law and violates fundamental human rights. The Israeli law constitutes a dangerous escalation and a new war crime against hostages. It not only legitimizes direct execution but also paves the way for a new phase of systematic violence against Palestinian prisoners who are already enduring inhumane conditions amounting to a form of slow death.

The main point is that any army or police officer can walk up to any Palestinian and say: "Do whatever I command you or we will snatch you and sentence you to death in the blink of an eye." Basically, this law would enable the settlers in the West Bank to act exactly like the Gestapo. All you need then is a Roland Freisler on the jury seat who will sign any death sentence delivered to him - and that shouldn't be too difficult a task for a party led by Ben-Gvir.

81 Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, bringing the total number of confirmed prisoner deaths since 1967 to 318.

These are not mere statistics. They are lives, each with a story — stories of hostages executed behind bars and in cold blood. In 1970, Sameeh Abu Hasaballah from Al-Nuseirat refugee camp was detained, tortured in Gaza Central Prison, and later taken in handcuffs by Israeli soldiers in a tank to his home, where he was executed in front of his mother. Source: Middle East Monitor.

The death penalty is not new in Israel’s occupation policy — it is already being carried out in the streets and at checkpoints across the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli soldiers and settlers routinely execute Palestinians without provocation or threat, often at point-blank range.

Two well-documented cases exemplify this pattern. On June 23, 2020, Ahmad Erekat, 26, was shot dead at the Israeli army’s “Container” checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem after his car collided with a barrier. Investigations by Al-Haqs rights group and Human Rights Watch found no evidence he posed any threat and concluded that he was deliberately shot/executed. Erekat was on his way to attend his sister's wedding. Read more here: 

https://shoah.org.uk/ahmed-erekat-another-palestinian-life-snuffed-out/

Despite the Israeli Medical Association previously announcing that it would not participate in implementing the law if it is passed, Ben Gvir said last December that "More than 100 doctors have submitted requests and said, 'We are volunteers to participate in carrying out the death penalty.'"

Finally, I would like to remind readers that Meir Baruchin is an Israeli history and civics high school teacher who was jailed for four days, held in solitary confinement, get spat on his face by his students and called "son of a bitch!" and "Traitor" after criticizing the killing of innocent Palestinian civilians in two Facebook posts. He is now free and is back at his job and admired by his students for his courage and for telling the truth to power. Please think about him and what can you do to make a difference before Israel starts executing Palestinian hostages soon.

Mahmoud El-Youseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes on U.S. foreign policy, Middle East affairs, and justice. Email: elyousseph6@yahoo.com