Israel Establishes Special Military Tribunal, 400 Hamas Militants Face Death Penalty
Israel’s parliament has officially enacted a law establishing a special military tribunal on Monday (11/5/2026) evening. This court is specifically designed to try approximately 400 members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force who are accused of committing war crimes in the 7 October 2023 attack.
The legislation, titled the “Law on the Prosecution of the 7 October Massacre,” received broad support from both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition and the opposition, passing with 93 votes in favour and none against.
This step creates a legal framework allowing the imposition of the death penalty on those proven to have committed genocide. Notably, the death penalty is rarely applied in Israel; since the state’s founding, only two individuals have been executed, one of whom was Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust, in 1962.
The tribunal will be based in Jerusalem and led by a panel of judges from district courts, including both active and retired ones. To ensure historical transparency, all proceedings will be recorded and broadcast publicly via a dedicated website.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin stated that the law is not only aimed at upholding justice. “This legislation will ensure not only that justice is served, but also that the historical record of this horrific massacre, regarding the victims, the hostages, and those responsible, will endure for generations,” he said last Sunday.
One provision in the law covers funding for the defendants’ legal defence. These costs are planned to be deducted from funds typically transferred to the Palestinian Authority, even though the West Bank-based authority was not involved in the 7 October attack.
The establishment of this special tribunal has provoked strong reactions from various parties. Israel’s human rights organisation Adalah has condemned the law, deeming it inconsistent with principles of judicial independence and the presumption of innocence.
“This legislation makes death sentences arbitrary deprivation of life, which is strictly prohibited under international law and could potentially constitute a war crime,” Adalah emphasised in its official statement.
Similar lawsuits have come from foreign governments and the Palestinian Authority, which view this legal framework as discriminatory. Nevertheless, the Israeli government insists that the court is necessary to handle prosecutions for acts of hostility, murder, sexual violence, kidnapping, and looting carried out in a coordinated manner against Israeli civilians.
The process of forming the tribunal is estimated to take several months before the first trial can begin. In addition to the initial attack, the law also covers legal violations committed against hostages taken to the Gaza Strip, including those who died in captivity. (CNN/Z-2)