Activists urge government action over new Israeli 'apartheid' law
'Government's inaction over Israel’s escalating violations of human rights would send a message of grave lack of moral standards'
A group of activists that on Wednesday met on the doorstep of the office of the prime minister said the government's inaction over Israel’s escalating violations of human rights would send a message of grave lack of moral standards.
Ġustizzja għall-Palestina, Moviment Graffitti, Youth for Palestine, Lebanese Advocates, SpeakUp Malta and Grupp Newtralita u Paċi urged the local authorities to say "no to Israel’s apartheid death penalty and no to complicity with Israel’s terror regime".
They referred to the Israeli Parliament’s approval of the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg has already expressed "deep concern" over the legislation.
Writing on X, Foreign Minister Borg said Malta remained “strongly opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances”, adding that justice for even the most “heinous acts of terror” must respect human dignity and rights.
On Wednesday, the activists said this was the first time since Nazi Germany that a state had legalised execution for a single ethnic group.
"This new law is a new low in Israel’s descent into intensified crimes against humanity, war crimes, illegal invasions and occupations, genocide and conspiracy to commit more of these crimes.
"Israel’s systematic annexation of the Palestinian homeland and systematic persecution of the Palestinian people have resulted in a hardened apartheid state where no Palestinian feels safe and secure."
They added that over 20,000 Palestinians have been held in terrifying conditions since October 2023. Since then, at least 110 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody.
In many cases, family members are not notified and access to postmortems is denied, they said, adding there has been a significant increase in the number of administrative detainees.
This new law is the tip of a deathly iceberg and must be repealed, they said.
"The Maltese government’s silence and inaction regarding Israel’s escalating violations of human rights would indicate a grave lack of moral standards and a shameful disregard for human rights."