Israel Advances Bill for Military Trials of October 7 Detainees

Israeli lawmakers could approve a bill that would see Palestinian detainees face the death penalty. The proposed legislation, which has gained support from both the governing coalition and the opposition, recently entered the Knesset for its final readings.

It would create a special military tribunal to try Palestinians accused of playing a role in the October 7, 2023 attacks when Hamas-led fighters entered communities along southern Israel’s border with Gaza. The bill was co-sponsored by a member of the Religious Zionism Party and a member of Yisrael Beytenu.

It is strongly backed by the justice minister. The legislation proposes a dedicated military headquarters and court in Jerusalem to handle the mass prosecution of Palestinians seized by Israeli forces on or around that date. At least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attacks according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli statistics.

About 240 others were seized as captives. Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza killed at least 72,500 Palestinians and destroyed much of the territory.

Crucially, the bill authorises the court to deviate from standard rules around evidence, legal procedures and detention. It grants judges full authority to issue the death penalty against Palestinians implicated by prosecutors in the attacks. The legislation permits sweeping exemptions in standard legal procedures during the trials of Palestinian suspects to handle the scale of mass arrests that followed October 7.

An attorney with Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, submitted a formal objection to the bill. She told Al Jazeera the legislation intentionally lowers legal protections to secure mass convictions. “The bill explicitly permits mass trials that deviate from standard rules of evidence, including broad judicial discretion to admit evidence obtained under coercive conditions that may amount to torture or ill-treatment,” the attorney said.

In a departure from standard Israeli judicial practice, which typically prohibits courtroom cameras, the bill mandates the filming and public broadcasting of key moments in the trials on a dedicated website. These include opening hearings, verdicts and sentencing.

One of the bill’s sponsors said that the entire world will witness the proceedings. The attorney warned that this provision effectively transforms proceedings into show trials at the expense of the accused’s rights. “The provisions governing public hearings… violate the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, and the right to dignity,” she explained.

These include codes on treason, assisting an enemy in wartime and the 1950 Law for Preventing and Punishing the Crime of Genocide. The attorney pointed out that Israeli legislators have compared the upcoming proceedings to the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann but noted historical and legal discrepancies in that comparison.

The attorney warned that the bill seeks to apply the crime of genocide in an expansive manner despite it being one of the most serious and narrowly defined offences in international law. Israel strictly limits the death penalty under civil law and has carried out executions only twice in its history.

The internal security agency has publicly supported the potential use of the death penalty for October 7 attackers as an act of deterrence. The attorney told Al Jazeera that lawmakers have clearly stated their expectation that the death penalty will be applied.

Taken together with the recent passage of a March 2026 death penalty law, this represents a deliberate move toward ending Israel’s long-standing moratorium on the death penalty. Under international law, imposing the death penalty through a compromised judicial process is illegal.

“Any death sentence imposed in the absence of strict fair trial guarantees constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life and is absolutely prohibited under international law,” the attorney said, citing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The minister of defence would be granted overarching authority over the law’s implementation, requiring only periodic written reports to a Knesset committee. Palestinians tried in Israeli military courts face a conviction rate of 99.74 percent according to data cited by Israeli rights groups.