Israel’s Parliament passed a new law imposing the death penalty and allowing public trials against those who participated in the unprecedented Hamas-led attacks on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
The legislation, jointly promoted by the government and opposition politicians, was approved in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) by 93 votes to 0, with 27 abstentions or absences of legislators.
“Let everyone see how the victims and their families look directly into the eyes of those murderers, rapists and kidnappers,” said Yulia Malinovsky, co-sponsor of the bill, in a press conference before the vote.
October 7, 2023 was the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Fighters led by Hamas infiltrated from Gaza to the south of the country, where they killed more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Another 251 were kidnapped and held captive in the Strip, among them men, women, children and also foreigners.
The Israeli response to this attack unleashed the most violent and deadly war to date in Gaza, in which at least 72,740 people have died, mostly children, women and the elderly, according to the Strip’s Ministry of Health.
What does the new law contemplate?
In March, the Knesset passed the Terrorist Death Penalty Law, aimed at Palestinians convicted of terrorist offenses, but it does not apply retroactively. That meant the creation of separate legislation to deal with those allegedly involved in the October 2023 assault.
The new law creates a special framework for prosecuting those accused of being directly involved in the attacks, including members of the Nukhba special forces unit of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, who were captured in Israel.
They are expected to face charges ranging from terrorism and murder to sexual violence and genocide, all punishable by the death penalty. They will be tried in front of a special military court in Jerusalem with different rules than a criminal trial.
Criticism of judicial processes
Although the military court will adjust some of the rules of procedure and presentation of evidence, promoters of the new law argue that this will not significantly affect the fairness of the trial.
However, human rights groups dispute this, pointing out that existing procedures are designed to protect the rights of the accused. They also criticize that some hearings will be held without the physical presence of the accused.
“Members of the government coalition have made it clear that they expect mass executions as a result of this court they have set up,” said Sari Bashi, executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.
“We know that Palestinians imprisoned on suspicion of participating in the crimes of October 7 have been widely and systematically tortured. My concern is that they will be sentenced and even executed based on confessions obtained under torture.”
Bashi acknowledges that those responsible for the attacks must be held accountable, but that “they deserve a fair trial, and the death penalty should never be on the table.”
How many accused are there?
Currently, the Israel Prison Service is holding 1,283 so-called illegal combatants, without formal charges against them. The vast majority are from Gaza.
There are also a small number of Gazans believed to be in the hands of the Israeli military, and between 300 and 400 criminally charged Gazans are reported to be in prison on suspicion of involvement in the October 7 attacks.
Many in Gaza are still seeking information about relatives who are known or believed to have crossed the border into Israel during the attacks or who were detained afterward.
A few dozen people protested against the new death penalty law outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City on Monday.
Among them was the brother of missing cameraman Haitham al Wahad, last seen covering the events of October 7 at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel.
“This law is cruel, it is a law that tries to take away the hope that we have lived,” said Hisham al Wahad. “As families of the prisoners and families of the missing, we call on States and public opinion, international, Arab and Islamic, to take action to stop this law,” he added.
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