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 Territories, and urge the UK government to take immediate action, including calling for the suspension of the UK-Israel trade agreement.
The organisations are urging the UK Government to:
- Suspend the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement by invoking Israel’s material breach of its human rights clause.
- Urgently implement the ICJ’s July 2024 advisory opinion and end the UK’s complicity in the Israeli government’s unlawful occupation and violations of international law, including by banning trade with, and investment in, illegal settlements.
- Actively support Palestinian and Israeli civil society organizations, whose monitoring, documentation, and advocacy are essential to the protection of human rights.
The statement also raises the alarm on the potential implications for children, as the legislation does not include safeguards excluding children from its application. Israel is one of the few countries in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military courts, and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has highlighted Israeli authorities’ “repeated denial of its legal obligations” and “complete disregard of [the Committee’s] recommendations…in relation to the arrest and detention of Palestinian children”.
The groups warn that the window for the UK Government to act is closing, with indications of preparations for implementing the law emerging, including reports of logistical planning for executions and further legislative moves to expand the use of the death penalty.
Oxfam Scotland said that while UK Government action is crucial, the developments also underline the importance of continued political leadership in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has previously called on the UK to withdraw from the UK–Israel Free Trade Agreement, and has already used its own devolved powers to halt new public funding for arms companies in Scotland linked to Israel, in response to grave concerns about international law violations and the devastation in Gaza. Oxfam Scotland says that position was the right one then and remains so today.
However, campaigners say the Scottish Government’s commitment must not be weakened or quietly eroded in the face of pressure from vested interests. Last week a senior arms industry figure said there is a lack of clarity on when the policy will end.
Campaigners say that the current and next Scottish Governments should continue to hold firm, put principles before profits, and ensure that no public money is ever used to enable serious violations of international law.
Katherine May, Oxfam Scotland Advocacy Adviser, said: “This is a moment of reckoning for political leaders. The UK cannot claim to stand for international law and be opposed to the death penalty while maintaining preferential trade with a government introducing a death penalty law that is discriminatory by design. The UK Government must act, urgently, concretely, and in accordance with its legal obligations and stated values.
“Here in Scotland, the challenge to the next Scottish Government is just as clear: continue to put principles before profits and do everything possible to prevent complicity in death and destruction Human rights and international law are not bargaining chips: they are the foundation of any democracy and what make us human. The next Scottish Government must stand firm. This is not the moment to dilute standards; it is the moment to defend and extend them.”
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For more information and interviews, please contact: Rebecca Lozza, Media and Communications Adviser, Oxfam Scotland: rlozza1@oxfam.org.uk / 07917738450
