Call to suspend UK-Israel trade deal over death penalty
30 April 2026:
Sabeel-Kairos UK and other leading humanitarian and human rights groups are today calling on the UK Government to suspend its trade agreement with Israel following its adoption, exactly one month ago, of a new death penalty law that they warn is “discriminatory by design”, and applicable in practice, primarily, if not exclusively, to Palestinians.
The legislation, passed by the Israeli parliament on 30 March 2026, imposes the death penalty within the military court system in the occupied Palestinian territory, with Israeli citizens and residents explicitly excluded. The organisations, which include Oxfam, ActionAid UK, Amos Trust, Council for Arab British Understanding (CAABU), Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), Human Rights Watch and War on Want, warn that these military courts, which have a conviction rate of approximately 96 per cent, lack the most basic due process and fair trial protections for Palestinians. Many prisoners are held unlawfully and are subject to inhumane conditions, starvation and torture as state policy.
In a joint open statement sent to the Foreign Secretary, the groups warn this is yet another “grave and dangerous escalation” of the Israeli government’s systematic assault on Palestinian life and rights, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territory, and urge the UK government to take immediate action, including calling for the suspension of the UK-Israel trade.
Shahd Mousalli, Oxfam’s Senior Humanitarian Influencing Advisor said the following:
“This bill is just one component of a systematic assault on Palestinian life and state sovereignty in the occupied Palestinian territory, from the genocidal campaign in Gaza, to state-backed settler violence against Palestinian civilians, and illegal settlement expansion and attacks on Palestinian land, property, and essential services”
To read the full statement go to:
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