Israel’s Parliament has approved the creation of a special military tribunal to prosecute Palestinians accused of involvement in the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, marking a dramatic escalation in the country’s legal response to one of the deadliest events in its history. The legislation allows for the death penalty and is expected to apply to hundreds of Gazans currently held in Israeli custody in connection with the assault that killed around 1,200 people and led to the kidnapping of approximately 250 others, according to Israeli authorities.
The measure passed with overwhelming support across Israel’s political spectrum. Ninety-three lawmakers from both the governing coalition and opposition parties voted in favor, while none voted against. The broad consensus highlighted the intensity of national outrage over the attacks, though it also exposed growing divisions over accountability inside Israel itself. Families of victims have increasingly demanded investigations not only into Hamas but also into Israeli leaders and security failures that allowed the attacks to happen.
Under the new law, the tribunal will operate within Israel’s military judicial system, which already handles prosecutions involving Palestinians in the occupied territories. The court has been granted authority to issue death sentences for crimes including genocide, terrorism, treason, aiding the enemy during wartime and violations of territorial sovereignty. Israeli law had already expanded the use of capital punishment in March for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, but that legislation could not be applied retroactively to suspects linked to the October 7 attacks. The newly approved framework was designed to overcome that obstacle.
The law revives capital punishment in a country that has not carried out an execution since 1962, when Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was executed following his capture by Israeli intelligence agents in Argentina. Supporters of the legislation framed the tribunal as a historic moment in Israeli justice. Simcha Rothman, a member of the Religious Zionism party and one of the architects of the measure, described the planned proceedings as modern-day “Nuremberg trials” against those responsible for what he called the worst massacre in Israeli history.
The legislation also guarantees that anyone convicted through the tribunal will automatically become ineligible for future prisoner exchange agreements, a highly sensitive issue in Israel given the country’s long history of swaps involving Palestinian detainees and Israeli hostages.
Human rights organizations inside Israel reacted with alarm, accusing the government of constructing a judicial mechanism designed more for punishment and public spectacle than for fair legal proceedings. Groups including HaMoked, Adalah and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel warned that suspects could face trials without judicial independence or due process protections. They also expressed fears that evidence obtained through torture during prolonged detention could be used in court.
Critics have particularly condemned provisions allowing parts of the trials to be broadcast online before verdicts are reached, arguing that the proceedings risk becoming politicized public performances intended to satisfy demands for revenge. Rights advocates also denounced the structure for selecting the tribunal’s 15 judges, saying it grants excessive influence to military leaders and senior government ministers allied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The controversy intensified amid renewed public anger toward Israel’s leadership over the security failures surrounding the October 7 attacks. Outside Parliament, demonstrators demanded the resignation of government officials and the establishment of an independent state commission to investigate how Hamas militants were able to breach Israeli defenses. The government has repeatedly resisted calls for such an inquiry, arguing that it would undermine national unity during ongoing regional conflicts.
Inside Parliament, tensions erupted when Palestinian-Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi accused some political factions of exploiting demands for justice against Palestinians for political gain. Families of victims in the visitors’ gallery shouted at him during the heated debate before the final vote.
The political celebration surrounding the law was led by senior ministers in Netanyahu’s coalition. Justice Minister Yariv Levin praised the legislation as a necessary response to terrorism, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed that those responsible for killing and assaulting Israelis would “pay the price.” Their comments came as a civilian commission led by international law expert Cochav Elkayam-Levy released findings alleging that Hamas militants carried out systematic sexual and gender-based violence during the October 7 assault.
Despite government assurances that the suspects will receive fair trials under Israeli law, legal observers remain deeply skeptical. Human rights groups argue that the reduced legal threshold for imposing the death penalty — requiring only a majority rather than a unanimous judicial decision — violates fundamental protections present in existing Israeli legal standards.
The organizations further warned that the legislation places Israel in direct opposition to the global trend toward abolishing capital punishment. They concluded that any death sentences resulting from a process lacking basic guarantees could amount to arbitrary deprivation of life prohibited under international law and potentially constitute a war crime.
