Israel Advances Bill for Military Trials of October 7 Detainees

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.