Israel Approves Law Allowing Public Trials, Death Penalty for Suspects in October 7 Attack
Al Jazeera Staff
Israeli lawmakers have passed a bill establishing a special court with the authority to impose the death penalty on Palestinians accused of involvement in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. Human rights groups warn the law undermines fair trial protections. The bill was approved with 93 votes in favor and none against in the 120-seat Knesset.
Israeli lawmakers have passed a bill establishing a special court with the authority to impose the death penalty on Palestinians accused of involvement in the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
The bill was approved with 93 votes in favor and none against in the 120-seat Knesset on Monday evening. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained.
Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups warned the bill makes it too easy to impose the death penalty and removes procedural safeguards for fair trials. Muna Haddad, a lawyer for Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, said the bill deliberately lowers legal protections to ensure the mass conviction of Palestinians. She stressed: “The bill allows for mass trials, deviating from standard rules of evidence, including a broad discretion to admit evidence obtained under coercive circumstances that may amount to torture or ill-treatment.”
Unlike standard Israeli judicial practice, which bans cameras in courtrooms, the bill requires recording and public broadcasting of key stages of trials on a dedicated website, including opening hearings, verdicts, and sentencing. Haddad warned this turns proceedings into “show trials” that harm defendants’ rights, violating the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial.
Israel is holding around 200–300 Palestinians, including those arrested in the October 7 attack, who have not yet been charged. The Hamas-led militant group, which is backed by the US as a mediator, attacked Israeli communities along the southern fence with Gaza, killing at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages. Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed at least 72,628 Palestinians, including 846 since a US-brokered ceasefire took effect in October last year. UN experts consider the war may amount to genocide.
Several Israeli human rights groups, including Hamoked, Adalah, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said “justice for the victims of October 7 is a legitimate and urgent imperative,” but any accountability for crimes must come through a process that upholds principles of justice rather than abandoning them. The bill is separate from a law passed in March that approved the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, though that law applies only to future cases and is not retroactive.
A Hamas spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, said the new law “provides cover for the war crimes that Israel is committing in Gaza.” The International Criminal Court is investigating Israeli conduct in the Gaza war and has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with three Hamas leaders who have since been killed by Israel. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, which it rejects.
