The Israeli Knesset’s passage last week of a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of “terrorism” drew swift and sweeping international condemnation. It also sparked a general strike across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, with Palestinians taking to the streets in Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron and elsewhere on April 1 to protest the measure.Some local shop owners in the occupied East Jerusalem area reported that Israeli forces had coerced them into reopening.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listA coalition of eight countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkiye, condemned the law as “discriminatory” and warned that it entrenches a system of apartheid. The European Union called it “a step backwards”. At the same time, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk went further, warning that its application to residents of the occupied Palestinian territory “would constitute a war crime”.Demonstrations broke out not only across Palestinian cities, but also in Syria, including the cities of Damascus, Hama and Deraa.The week’s political tensions unfolded against the backdrop of an ongoing siege on Jerusalem’s holy sites. Al-Aqsa Mosque has remained closed to Muslim worshippers for more than a month, with a state of emergency extended until mid-April.Palestinians in Jerusalem have been holding Friday prayers in the streets surrounding the Old City as Israeli authorities continue to ban access to Al-Aqsa, contravening the sovereignty of the Islamic Waqf over the site under the custodianship of King Abdullah II of Jordan. A …
