Israel’s death penalty law could spell suspension from rights body role, says chief

Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, celebrates after Israel's parliament passed a law making the death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks. Photograph: Oren Ben Hakoon/Reuters

Israel’s observer status at the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly could be suspended over the country’s new law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of some offences, the president of the body has said.

Petra Bayr, an Austrian Social Democrat and president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace), said not using the death penalty was “really a requirement” of having observer status at the pan-European human rights body, which has no connection to the EU.