Gaza Genocide02 June, 20263 min read
Israel Approves Elite Law Budget for Special Military Court to Prosecute Hamas Detainees
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Government approved budget to establish a Jerusalem military tribunal for Hamas detainees. Detainees will face charges including genocide, war crimes, terrorism offenses, and murder.
Elite Law budget and court
Israel’s government approved a budget plan to set up a special court for Gaza detainees under what the Israeli Defense Ministry describes as the "Elite Law," with the Defense and Finance ministries announcing the plan. Haaretz said the cases will be heard by a military court in Jerusalem, where Hamas terrorists will be charged with genocide, harming state sovereignty or territorial integrity, initiating war, aiding the enemy in wartime, offenses under the Counter-Terrorism Law and murder. Al-Jazeera Net reported that the plan allocates a budget exceeding one billion shekels (about $270 million) to the Ministry of Defense and the Israeli Army during the years 2026 to 2029 to prosecute detainees.
Al-Jazeera Net added that the law provides for the establishment of a special military court to try 250 fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and that the prisoners will not be included in any future prisoner exchange deal. Al-Jazeera Net said the funding will be used to create infrastructure for the law, including the construction of a court complex, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and an army headquarters.
Condemnation and death-penalty path
Palestinian prisoners’ institutions said the Knesset’s approval of a law to establish a special court for Gaza detainees, paving the way for imposing the death penalty on them, constitutes a 'serious escalation' and a violation of international law. Anadolu Ajansı reported that the three institutions said the law targets Gaza detainees whom Israel alleges participated in the events of October 7, 2023, and described it as 'another link in a chain of colonial-era legislation that enshrines the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people, including prisoners and detainees.' Yedioth Ahronoth, as quoted by Anadolu Ajansı, quoted Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin saying the law will grant full authority to issue death sentences, and that when such sentences are issued they will be carried out.
Yariv Levin also said, according to Anadolu Ajansı, "We are talking about hundreds of suspects, and the army will be responsible for leading the legal proceedings." Yeni Şafak, citing a joint statement by Palestinian prisoners’ organizations, described the bill as 'a dangerous escalation' and a flagrant violation of international law.
Prison conditions, war context
In Gaza, Virgule.lu reported that Israeli airstrikes continued Monday in Gaza, where civilians are still on the brink of famine, after a somber Christmas for Palestinians in Bethlehem in the West Bank. Virgule.lu said the Hamas health ministry announced that at least 11 people were killed in a bombing in Khan Younis (south), and that the central part of the territory suffered about fifty successive strikes. Virgule.lu also reported that the conflict has left 20,424 dead in the Gaza Strip, mostly women, adolescents and children, according to the latest tally from the Hamas Health Ministry, and that it has forced 1.9 million inhabitants to flee their homes, about 85% of the population according to the UN.
In Israeli prisons, The Times of Israël reported that in July, 10,762 security prisoners were held in Israel, according to figures released by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) to HaMoked, and that 1,419 are serving court-imposed sentences, 3,260 are awaiting conviction and 3,629 are administrative detainees. The Times of Israël quoted HaMoked executive director Jessica Montell saying, "Military law defines a large number of actions considered as 'security offenses,' from stone-throwing at Israeli vehicles to planning and carrying out terrorist attacks," as it described scabies spreading within high-security sections over the last two years.