The death‑penalty bill approved by Israel’s parliament has been met with sharp rejection from the German Greens. “The federal government can no longer look away; it must act” Greens chair Franziska Brantner told “Spiegel”.
She argues that targeted sanctions should at least be imposed on Police Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who she says would trample human rights with a policy of expulsion and violence.
Brantner added that Ben‑Gvir’s push to expand the death penalty-“which in practice affects only Palestinians and is to be carried out summararily, without discretion”-reveals a deeply racist character. “Words alone are no longer enough” she said. “The federal government must act”.
The decision also sparked outrage within Germany’s Left Party. Party leader Jan van Aken told a news magazine, “The right‑wing majority in Israel’s parliament wants to introduce a death penalty for crimes that, in effect, only Palestinians can commit-this is as discriminatory as it is racist”. He warned that the new law would further divide the region.
