ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned a death penalty bill that was passed in the Israeli Knesset a day earlier which authorizes the execution of Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its strongest condemnation of the Israeli Knesset's ratification of the law authorizing the execution of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons,” said the ministry in a statement, calling the move a “violation” of international law and a “dangerous escalation.”

The Israeli parliament passed the bill on Monday with 62 in favor to 48 votes against.

The measure legalizes the use of the death penalty against Palestinians in the Israel-occupied West Bank convicted of intentionally carrying out lethal attacks perceived as acts of terrorism by a court.

Israel’s policies in the West Bank, particularly with the imposition of settlements have repeatedly been condemned not only by regional Arab and Muslim states, but also growingly by Western countries that have historically had more favorable relations with Tel Aviv.

The current controvesial legislation has also drawn the ire of several European nations. Foreign ministers of Germany, France, the UK, and Italy have previously voiced “deep concern, and warned that the bill, if passed into law, will “significantly expand the possibilities to impose the death penalty in Israel.”

“We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill,” the four foreign ministers wrote in a joint statement on Sunday.

The Iraqi foreign ministry called on the international community to “uphold the provisions of international law, ensure the protection of civilians … and work to halt the escalation in a manner that contributes to the preservation of regional peace and security.”

Hamas on Monday slammed the law as “fascist”, urging the international community to “take urgent action to halt this criminal overreach and ensure the protection of our prisoners from the occupation's brutality.”

“This decision once again confirms the occupation and its leaders' contempt for international law and their blatant disregard for all humanitarian norms and conventions,” said the Palestinian group.