Protests continue over Israel's death penalty law targeting Palestinians

Protests and condemnation of Israel’s death penalty law targeting Palestinians continued on Friday, following similar demonstrations earlier this week.

Scores of Syrians gathered at the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus after Friday congregational prayers to denounce the Israeli closure of Al-Aqsa and the approval of the law that would allow the death penalty to be used on Palestinian detainees accused of attacking Israelis.

Many of the participants also chanted in solidarity with Palestinians, urging for their basic rights to be restored.

A similar protest took place in Istanbul, Turkey, with hundreds of demonstrators protesting and waving signs against the death penalty law, video footage showed.

The protests on 3 April follow waves of similar movements, and denunciations took place across the world, including in Milan, Italy.

On Friday, China called for Palestinians' rights to be protected.

"The legal rights of the Palestinian people should be respected and protected," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said when asked about the bill at a press briefing.

"We also hope relevant parties will cease actions that escalate tensions and exacerbate conflict," she said, without mentioning Israel by name.

"China 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," Mao added.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates also lambasted the bill in a joint statement on Thursday.

"This 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," the statement read.

On Wednesday, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank took part in a general strike, which saw almost all businesses and organisations shut down in protest against the law. In some cities, people marched into the streets, condemning the legislation.

The law has been called “racist” by rights groups and activists around the world, as it does not apply to Jewish Israelis accused of similar crimes.