Qais Abu Samra and Ikram Kouachi
19 August 2026•Update: 19 August 2026
The head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Abdullah al-Zaghari, on Wednesday called for “effective international action” following reports that Israel had begun designating a wing for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death, including a room for carrying out executions.
Israel holds around 9,400 Palestinian prisoners, including 94 women, more than 350 children, 3,244 administrative detainees and 1,320 people it classifies as “unlawful combatants,” according to Palestinian figures.
Zaghari told Anadolu that the move was part of the “continued determination of the Israeli occupation system” to turn incitement and legislation it had approved into practical measures aimed at executing Palestinian prisoners.
He said preparations to implement the “racist” law constituted a “crime against humanity” and were part of efforts to use Palestinian prisoners “as a political bargaining chip.”
Zaghari also held the international community responsible for the continuation of such practices, citing the “international silence” that had allowed Israel to continue its repressive measures.
The office of far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Tuesday that the first wing for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death was being designated and would include a special room for carrying out executions, according to Israel’s private broadcaster Channel 24.
According to the broadcaster, Israel previously carried out the death penalty in 1962, when Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was executed.
In 1948, Israel was established on lands seized by armed Zionist militias that committed massacres and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. Israel later occupied the remaining Palestinian territories and has refused to withdraw from them and allow the establishment of a Palestinian state as called for in UN resolutions.
