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China called on Friday for Palestinians\u2019 rights to be protected after Israel approved a bill to allow the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks.<\/p>\n
Under the new law<\/a>, passed by Israel\u2019s parliament on Monday, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted by military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as \u201cterrorism\u201d will face the death penalty as a default sentence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe legal rights of the Palestinian people should be respected and protected,\u201d China\u2019s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said when asked about the bill at a press briefing on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also hope relevant parties will cease actions that escalate tensions and exacerbate conflict,\u201d she said, without mentioning Israel by name.<\/p>\n \u201cChina believes that any law should fulfil legal principles such as equality and justice and should not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion or nationality or political views,\u201d Mao added.<\/p>\n A host of countries have criticised the bill, which was supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n The United Nations said on Tuesday that applying the new bill in occupied Palestinian territory would constitute a war crime.<\/p>\n The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Qatar, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates also criticised<\/a> the bill in a joint statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThis legislation constitutes a dangerous escalation, particularly given its discriminatory application against Palestinian prisoners, and stressed that such measures risk further exacerbating tensions and undermining regional stability,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n