Israeli lawmakers have approved the establishment of a special tribunal with the authority to sentence to death Palestinians convicted of participating in the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war. The measure passed by a vote of 93 to 0 in the 120-seat Knesset, reflecting broad support among Israel's Jewish majority for punishing those responsible for the deadliest attack in the country's history. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained.
Separate from Previous Death Penalty Law
This bill is distinct from a law passed in March that authorized the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, which drew international condemnation as discriminatory and inhumane. The October 2023 attack, led by Hamas's elite Nukhba force, killed at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, marking the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Israeli forces captured approximately 300 alleged attackers during and after the assault, who have been detained since.
Tribunal Powers and Procedures
Under the new legislation, the tribunal can charge alleged assailants under Israel's 1950 law for the prevention of genocide, which carries the death penalty. Rights groups criticize the measure for making capital punishment too easy to impose and for eliminating safeguards that ensure a fair trial. Defendants may appeal, but appeals must be heard by a special appeals court rather than regular courts. Ya'ara Mordecai, an international law expert at Yale Law School, expressed concerns about due process in a military court setting and the risk of politicized show trials.
The bill empowers a panel of judges to impose the death penalty by majority vote and requires trials to be livestreamed from a Jerusalem courtroom, drawing comparisons to the 1962 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, which was broadcast live and resulted in a death sentence. Eichmann's execution was the last carried out in Israel, though capital punishment remains legal for genocide, wartime espionage, and certain terror offenses. Military courts have rarely used the death penalty; the only instance was commuted.
Political and Legal Reactions
Smadar Ben-Natan, an Israeli legal scholar, noted that the Eichmann case was once seen as a unique historical injustice, but some in Israel's coalition government now depict Hamas as the new Nazis. Opponents argue that livestreaming before guilt is established risks turning trials into a spectacle and question the reliability of evidence possibly obtained through harsh interrogation. Simcha Rothman, a bill sponsor, hailed the overwhelming consensus as lawmakers uniting around a common mission.
Israeli rights groups including HaMoked, Adalah, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel stated that while justice for October 7 victims is urgent, accountability must adhere to principles of justice. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the law covers up Israel's war crimes in Gaza. The International Criminal Court is investigating Israel's conduct in the Gaza war and has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three deceased Hamas leaders. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, which it rejects as politically motivated, arguing its war is against Hamas, not the Palestinian people.
