FM Berendsen: Israeli death penalty "unacceptable", but no 'apartheid' in Israel

The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tom Berendsen (CDA), has described the recently adopted Israeli law allowing the death penalty for Palestinian detainees as “unacceptable.” He writes this in his answers to parliamentary questions about the legislation, which critics say is discriminatory and violates the international legal order. The Netherlands remains principled in its opposition to the death penalty, according to the minister.

Berendsen stresses that the cabinet is deeply concerned about developments in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. According to him, the Netherlands is “principally opposed to the death penalty” and considers executions to be inhumane and ineffective. The cabinet also finds the discriminatory nature of the law — which applies specifically to Palestinians tried in Israeli military courts — unacceptable.