{"id":437615,"date":"2026-05-12T09:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/437615\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T09:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:02:13","slug":"knesset-passes-law-establishing-military-tribunal-to-try-october-7-perpetrators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/437615\/","title":{"rendered":"Knesset passes law establishing military tribunal to try October 7 perpetrators"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Knesset on Monday night passed a law to establish a special military tribunal to try Palestinian terrorists accused of committing atrocities during the October 7, 2023, invasion, with 93 votes in favor and none opposed.<\/p>\n

Submitted jointly by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, of the coalition, and Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky, of the opposition, the rare bipartisan legislation would see the establishment of a special court within the military justice system to try the roughly 300 alleged terrorists captured by security forces inside Israel during the invasion and held in detention since.<\/p>\n

Under the legislation, the tribunal will be able to charge the assailants with all relevant crimes, including genocide under the terms of Israel\u2019s 1950 Law for the Prevention of Genocide, harming Israeli sovereignty, causing war, assisting an enemy during a time of war, and terror charges under Israel\u2019s 2016 law for combating terrorism.<\/p>\n

Those convicted of genocide charges would be liable for the death penalty.<\/p>\n

Justice Minister Yariv Levin called the passage of the legislation \u201cone of the most important moments of the current Knesset. One can feel that we are doing the right thing by finding a way to unite at this moment, even though we are on the eve of elections and despite all the disagreements that exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a historic framework intended to deliver justice and bring to trial the terrorists who carried out the worst massacre in the state\u2019s history,\u201d said Rothman, while Malinovsky proclaimed that \u201cthese will be the trials of the modern-day Nazis, and they will go down in the history books.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tReligious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 11, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Malinovsky dedicated the law to \u201cthe murdered victims, the hostages, and their families. In the end, our spirit and our ability to cope with and stand in the face of immense pain \u2014 that is what makes us great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between 5,000 and 6,000 Palestinian terrorists, mostly from Hamas but including other terror groups, invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, by land, air, and sea, at multiple points on the Israel-Gaza border, and carried out a series of massacres in which some 1,200 people were killed. It was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.<\/p>\n

These assailants also abducted 251 people as hostages and took them captive to the Gaza Strip, while also committing a wave of other atrocities, including rape and torture, documenting the savagery on bodycams they wore during the attack, and posting the footage online and in messages to the victims\u2019 families.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tScreenshot from a video broadcast on the Israeli TV channel Kan 11 showing Hamas terrorists bursting into Kibbutz Be\u2019eri on October 7, 2023. (YouTube)<\/p>\n

The legislation also stipulates that anyone who is suspected, charged, or convicted of October 7 crimes cannot be released through prisoner release agreements.<\/p>\n

However, the implementation of the law could be delayed by disagreements between the defense and finance ministries over the projected cost of establishing the special tribunal, a concern that was repeatedly raised while the bill was debated in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, chaired by Rothman.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA general view of a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 11, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

According to Hebrew media reports, the Defense Ministry estimates the initiative would cost roughly NIS 5 billion ($1.72 billion) primarily due to plans for a dedicated judicial compound and a staff of some 400 soldiers and civilian employees.<\/p>\n

Finance Ministry officials, however, reportedly argue that the required budget is closer to NIS 2 billion ($689 million) \u2014 still costly but far less than the Defense Ministry\u2019s proposal, which they consider excessively expensive at roughly NIS 14 million ($4.8 million) per defendant.<\/p>\n

Either way, implementing the new law is expected to be costly, and whether it ultimately moves forward may depend on the defense and finance ministries reaching an agreement.<\/p>\n

A large consensus<\/p>\n

Efforts to pass the legislation drew uniquely bipartisan support across the coalition and the opposition, as well as from the Attorney General\u2019s Office, which announced in February that the state\u2019s prosecution services agreed to the legislation.<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads Rothman\u2019s Religious Zionism party, commended him on \u201cadvancing this law with rare wall-to-wall consensus, from both the coalition and opposition alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will neither forget nor forgive. Those who murdered, raped, and massacred will pay the price,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cwe are delivering justice!\u201d<\/p>\n

As Smotrich promised retribution, Malinovsky, the law\u2019s cosponsor, emphasized that Israel is \u201cgoverned by law\u201d and that those accused will \u201cstand trial in court, according to all the rules, and the judges will hand down their sentences. There will be an orderly legal process, filmed and broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tYisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 11, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Trials will be open to the public and broadcast on a website set up for that purpose.<\/p>\n

The tribunal would be staffed by a total of 15 judges who are either qualified to serve on the Supreme Court or are international jurists whom the justice minister, in consultation with the foreign minister, deems have the appropriate qualifications to sit on such a panel.<\/p>\n

An individual case would be heard by three judges \u2014 one of whom would be a retired district court judge \u2014 while a five-judge panel would hear proceedings involving multiple defendants. Appeals would be heard by all 15 judges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unique scope and severity of the atrocities pose an unprecedented challenge to the Israeli justice system,\u201d the bill\u2019s authors wrote in the explanatory notes on the need for the law. \u201cThe investigation of the events is exceptionally complex and extraordinary in scope, due to the large number of crime scenes, the large number of suspects and victims, and the manner of evidence collection, particularly during wartime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The establishment of the tribunal, they wrote, is designed to \u201callow for an efficient and appropriate criminal process, while safeguarding the interests of the victims and the public at large, and at the same time ensuring the conduct of a proper and fair legal proceeding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rights groups have raised concerns about whether those accused of taking part in the October 7 invasion and massacres can receive fair trials after being held for nearly two and a half years without charge.<\/p>\n

They have also warned that harsh detention conditions, including allegations of abuse, torture, and severe food restrictions in Israeli prisons since the war began, could call into question the reliability of confessions or testimony obtained in custody, while the scale and horror of the attacks may create intense public and political pressure on judges for convictions.<\/p>\n

A law for whom?<\/p>\n

While the law ultimately passed with no opposition, the debate leading up to the vote was chaotic. The plenum erupted in shouting ahead of the final vote as a small number of bereaved families watching from the visitors\u2019 gallery repeatedly interrupted Hadash-Ta\u2019al MK Ahmad Tibi for addressing the chamber in Arabic.<\/p>\n

As Tibi presented a reservation to the legislation in Arabic \u2014 one of Israel\u2019s two official languages, commonly used by Arab lawmakers in the plenum \u2014 family members in the visitors\u2019 gallery began yelling at him, with some shouting \u201cshame\u201d and accusing him of supporting terrorism.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tBereaved families shout at Hadash-Ta\u2019al MK Ahmad Tibi during a debate on the law prosecuting October 7 perpetrators at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 11, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

\u201cI respect the pain of every bereaved family,\u201d Tibi said, but added that some people are \u201cpolitically exploiting\u201d their grief.<\/p>\n

\u201cI, too, have relatives who were killed in Gaza, including two children. I do not exploit this politically, and I do not seek revenge. I seek to move to a different reality, in which there will be no bereavement for either Israelis or Palestinians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At one point, Tibi addressed one of the protesters directly, saying, \u201cYou are a guest here. So what if you are a bereaved father? Members of my family were also killed, and I do not behave like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The remarks sparked further outrage in the gallery, and Knesset ushers were forced to remove some of the protesters from the area.<\/p>\n

However, relatively few bereaved families appeared to attend the plenum session itself. As lawmakers applauded themselves and dedicated the legislation to those murdered on October 7, there was little comment from organizations representing bereaved relatives or hostage families on the new law.<\/p>\n

Former hostage: All MKs must step down<\/p>\n

Organizations representing bereaved relatives and hostage families have largely focused their public advocacy on other demands, including the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures that led to the disaster, and for political leaders to take responsibility for it \u2014 demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have resisted.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFormer hostage Rom Braslavski speaks at an October Council press conference on May 11, 2026. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Rather than attend the plenum, dozens of bereaved family members were at the Knesset earlier in the day, attending faction meetings, meeting with opposition lawmakers, and holding a press conference organized by the October Council, which represents the victims of the October 7 massacre, including bereaved families, former hostages, and residents of the Gaza envelope region and the north.<\/p>\n

At the event, speakers called on lawmakers to resign and establish a state commission of inquiry.<\/p>\n

Former hostage Rom Braslavski called on all members of the Knesset to step down, \u201ctake responsibility, and get out of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blood of everyone murdered on October 7 is on your hands,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd just before you go, establish the state commission of inquiry that will investigate what exactly happened here, so it never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other speakers included Eyal Eshel, whose daughter Roni Eshel, a surveillance soldier, was killed on October 7, and Michel Illouz, whose son Guy Illouz was killed in captivity.<\/p>\n

Council members said their goal in the coming months is to ensure that the October 7 massacre and politicians\u2019 evasion of responsibility for the debacle become the main issue for voters in the upcoming elections, set to take place by the end of October.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, the families, will pursue this truth until our final day, for Guy, for all those murdered, for the hostages, and for the country that can no longer breathe under this government,\u201d said Illouz. \u201cThis is the final session of the current Knesset. May we soon be able to say: good riddance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam Sokol and Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Knesset on Monday night passed a law to establish a special military tribunal to try Palestinian terrorists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,14406,43,190784,127575,40,38,41,39,127604],"class_list":["post-437615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-knesset","tag-news","tag-october-7-hamas-atrocities","tag-simcha-rothman","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-yulia-malinovsky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}