world
Israeli Lawmakers Approve Special Tribunal for 2023 Hamas Attack Suspects
The Knesset passed a bill 93-0 on May 11, 2026, establishing a special tribunal empowered to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of participating in the October 7, 2023, attack. The measure creates a dedicated appeals process and requires livestreamed trials in Jerusalem. Rights groups raised concerns about fair trial safeguards and evidence reliability.
Nbc NewsAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Israeli lawmakers approved a bill on Monday setting up a special tribunal that would try and have the authority to sentence to death Palestinians convicted of taking part in the 2023 Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in Gaza. The measure passed 93-0 in the 120-seat Knesset, with the remaining 27 lawmakers absent or abstaining from the vote.
The legislation reflects support among those present for holding accountable those responsible for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Defendants would be able to appeal their sentences, but the appeals would be heard by a separate special appeals court rather than the regular appeals courts.
The bill empowers a panel of judges to hand down the death penalty by a majority vote and requires the trials to be conducted in a livestreamed Jerusalem courtroom. The proceedings have drawn comparisons to the 1962 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, which was broadcast live on television.
Eichmann was executed by hanging, the last time the death penalty was carried out in Israel. Capital punishment remains on the books for acts of genocide, espionage during wartime and certain terror offenses.
Rights groups said the measure makes the death penalty too easy to impose while doing away with procedures safeguarding the right to a fair trial. Opponents of the bill also said that livestreaming the proceedings before guilt is established risks turning the trials into a spectacle.
They have raised questions about the reliability of the evidence that may be presented, saying it could have been extracted by harsh interrogation methods. Several Israeli rights groups stated that while justice for the victims of October 7 is a legitimate and urgent imperative, any accountability must be pursued through a process which includes rather than abandons the principles of justice.
