Activists are calling on the Maltese government to take action over a new Israeli law that they describe as “apartheid”.A group of organisations, including Ġustizzja għall-Palestina, Moviment Graffitti, Youth for Palestine, Lebanese Advocates, SpeakUp Malta and Grupp Newtralità u Paċi, made the appeal after meeting outside the Prime Minister’s office yesterday.Speakers include Her Excellency Marie Louise Coleiro, Ambassador Fadi Hanaja and Prof David E. Zammit.They warned that government inaction in response to Israel’s escalating human rights violations would signal a serious lack of moral standards and amount to complicity with what they referred to as Israel’s “terror regime”.“This is the first time since Nazi Germany that a state has legalised execution for a single ethnic group. One of its main promoters, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, long seen sporting a noose on his lapel, now boasts of constructing a Palestinian Death Row Facility,” wrote the organisations in a statement.The activists specifically referred to the Israeli Parliament’s approval of legislation introducing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.They argued this marks a severe escalation in what they describe as systematic persecution and apartheid, and said it sets a dangerous precedent.The organisations also claimed that over 20,000 Palestinians have been held in harsh conditions since October 2023, with at least 110 dying in custody, and alleged restrictions on information around deaths and postmortems. They also said that 3,500 Palestinian detainees are presently held on “secret evidence” for renewable periods without charge or trial including at least 25 women and 180 children.“The Malta Government’s silence and inaction in regard to Israel’s escalating violations of human rights would indicate a grave lack of moral standards and a shameful disregard for human rights,” wrote the organisation.The groups said the law represents a further deterioration in Israel’s human rights record and insisted it should be repealed.What do you make of this?•