Dear Member of Parliament,
I am writing to urge you to take immediate action in response to the execution law passed by the Israeli Knesset on March 30, 2026. Human rights organizations warn that the law removes basic due-process protections and entrenches an already discriminatory two-tiered legal system.
At the end of March, Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, along with several other organizations, filed a petition to the Supreme Court demanding that the law be declared null and void because it imposes cruel and inhumane punishment.
This development must also be viewed alongside the mass imprisonment and detention of Palestinians. Over 9 500 Palestinians, including 350 children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, many under administrative detention without charge or trial. Many human-rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented patterns of abuse against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. Reports describe the use of prolonged solitary confinement, stress positions, sleep deprivation, rape, and physical intimidation during interrogations. The new execution law places these detainees at heightened and immediate risk and makes already abused Palestinians even more vulnerable.
The law applies exclusively to Palestinians, while Israeli settlers living in the same territory remain exempt. Settler violence continues with near-total impunity, while Palestinians face the harshest penalties. Btselem notes that Palestinians are prosecuted in military courts with a 96% conviction rate, often based on confessions obtained during torture. Israel, as the occupying power, has no sovereign authority to legislate for Palestinians under international law. The celebratory political rhetoric surrounding the law underscores its discriminatory intent.
It is for these reasons that I am deeply concerned about the impact of this law on the lives of Palestinian hostages and their families. Canada has a history of speaking out on global human rights violations and we fully abolished the death penalty in 1998. Therefore I urge the Canadian government to immediately:
1. Publicly condemn Israel’s new death penalty law and call for its repeal.
2. Raise this issue diplomatically in bilateral and multilateral forums
3. Address the mass incarceration of Palestinians, including administrative detention and the detention of minors
4. Support international accountability mechanisms for discriminatory legal practices
5. Review military, financial, and diplomatic cooperation where international law violations are documented.
6. Demand independent monitoring and accountability to ensure that all detainees are treated with dignity and in accordance with international legal standards
7. Support a two-way arms embargo that would halt the transfer of Canadian-made military goods and equipment to all parties involved in the conflict
This law represents a dangerous escalation in an already unequal legal system and poses grave risks to Palestinians living under occupation, especially the thousands currently imprisoned in Israel. It is imperative Canada take a principled stand now that is consistent with both its opposition to capital punishment, and its commitment to international law.
Sincerely,
[Your Name] [Your Postal Code] [Your City, Province]