Lorraine Williamson
Pedro Sánchez has sharply condemned Israel’s new law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks in military courts, calling it “a step towards apartheid” and one more sign of unequal justice in the occupied territories.
The Spanish prime minister said the measure was discriminatory because it would punish Palestinians in a way that would not apply equally to Israelis committing similar crimes.
The law was approved by Israel’s parliament on Monday and marks a major shift in the country’s legal approach. Reuters and AP reported that it mandates death by hanging for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks, while critics say it effectively excludes Jewish Israelis from the same punishment because of how the court system is structured. Sánchez said: “Same crime, different punishment. That is not justice.”
A new flashpoint in Spain’s clash with Israel
Spain’s response is significant because relations between Madrid and Israel have already deteriorated badly over the past year. Reuters notes that Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador from Israel on 11 March 2026, after months of increasingly fierce disagreement over Gaza and wider regional tensions. Sánchez’s latest remarks push that confrontation even further into the open.
This is not just rhetorical theatre. Spain has become one of the most outspoken European critics of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and Madrid’s language now stands among the strongest in the EU.
Spain and Palestine strengthen ties
Why the law is causing such alarm
The main reason for the backlash is that the law is seen as applying one justice system to Palestinians and another to Israelis. Reuters, AP, and other reporting say the legislation targets Palestinians tried in military courts in the occupied West Bank, where due-process protections are already heavily criticised by rights groups and international bodies.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the measure violates international law and should be repealed immediately. Volker Türk warned that the legislation is discriminatory, leaves no room for pardon, and would require executions within 90 days, raising serious concerns about due process and Israel’s legal obligations.
The European Union has also voiced concern. A European Commission spokesperson described the move as “very concerning” and a clear step backwards, urging Israel to respect international law and democratic principles. That means Spain is not isolated in objecting to the law, though Sánchez has used especially forceful language.
A law with huge symbolic force
Israel has rarely used the death penalty. Reuters notes that the country abolished capital punishment for murder in 1954, with Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann remaining the only person executed after a civilian trial. That history makes the new law especially contentious, not only because of who it targets but because it reopens one of the most severe punishments a state can impose.
Critics say the symbolism is inseparable from the politics. The measure was backed by Netanyahu’s far-right allies and has been read internationally as a hardening of an already unequal legal framework in the occupied territories. In that sense, Spain’s reaction is part of a wider European and international judgment that the law is not simply tough but discriminatory by design.
Why this matters for Spain
For Spanish readers, the story matters on two levels. First, it shows Spain taking an unusually direct line on one of the world’s most divisive conflicts. Second, it underlines how foreign policy has become a more visible domestic political tool, with Sánchez willing to use blunt language on Israel at a time when Middle East tensions are already feeding into EU diplomacy and public debate across Europe.
It also keeps Spain in the middle of a broader international conversation about law, rights, and the limits of democratic credibility. The question is no longer whether Madrid disagrees with Netanyahu’s government. That has long been clear. The question now is how far Spain and the wider EU are prepared to go beyond condemnation if Israel presses ahead with policies that Brussels, the UN, and several European governments regard as discriminatory and unlawful.
Spain’s criticism is getting sharper
Sánchez’s words will almost certainly deepen the diplomatic frost between the two countries. But they also fit a wider pattern: Spain is moving from criticism of individual Israeli actions to a more explicit challenge to the legal and moral framework behind them. Describing the new law as “a step towards apartheid” is not routine diplomatic language. It is a deliberate escalation.
Whether that changes anything on the ground is another matter. What it does do is make Spain’s position unmistakably clear: Madrid sees the new law not as a security measure, but as a discriminatory punishment system that pushes Israel further away from the democratic standards it claims to uphold.