Knesset Approves Special Court With Death Penalty for Gaza Detainees Linked to October 7

Palestinian prisoners’ organizations said the Israeli Knesset’s approval of a special law to establish an exceptional court for Gaza detainees—whom Israeli authorities allege participated in the October 7 events and for whom the law includes the imposition of the death penalty—constitutes a new and dangerous link in a system of colonial legislation that they say entrenches genocide against Palestinians, including prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.

“Israeli legislators have approved a bill to establish a special tribunal with the power to impose the death penalty on Palestinians accused of involvement in the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023”

Al Jazeera

They argued the law violates international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and “the absolute prohibition of torture or any form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,” while also tying the measure to what they described as the prior “Palestinian Prisoners’ Death Law.”

Al Jazeera

The organizations said the law comes amid “continuing shocking testimonies from prisoners and detainees documenting systematic torture, starvation, medical crimes, harsh isolation, sexual assaults, and slow-killing policies organized within Israeli prisons and detention centers.”

They also warned that the Israeli occupation’s insistence on developing legislative tools to legitimize the death penalty through “exceptional procedures lacking minimal justice standards” would not continue without what they called international impotence and political and legal complicity regarding ongoing Israeli crimes.

In parallel, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli legislators approved a bill to establish a special tribunal with the power to impose the death penalty on Palestinians accused of involvement in the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, passing 93-0 in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, late on Monday.

Hamas denounced the Israeli law allowing execution of its members as “a dangerous escalation” and “a new crime” against Palestinian prisoners, saying the Knesset passed the measure Monday evening after approving it in its second and third readings.

In a statement carried by TRT World, Hamas said the law “reveals the vengeful and racist nature of the occupation system,” and warned that the legislation “legalise the killing of prisoners and turn courts into tools of revenge and abuse.”

Haaretz

TRT World also reported that on Sunday Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin said the law would grant full authority to issue death sentences, while Hamas said the bill’s exceptional powers for military courts and its permission to bypass rules of procedure and evidence reflect Israel’s departure from “standards of justice and fair trials.”

Al Jazeera quoted Adalah lawyer Muna Haddad saying the bill “explicitly permits mass trials that deviate from standard rules of evidence,” including broad judicial discretion to admit evidence obtained under coercive conditions that may amount to torture or ill-treatment.

Haddad told Al Jazeera that the public-broadcast provision would “transforms proceedings into show trials at the expense of the accused’s rights,” as the bill mandates filming and public broadcasting of key moments on a dedicated website.

The Al Jazeera report said Israel has been holding an estimated 200-300 Palestinians, including those captured in the country during the October 7 attacks, who have not yet been charged, and it described the bill as making death penalty imposition easier while doing away with procedures safeguarding the right to a fair trial.

“An Israeli female soldier stands among the graves during the funeral of another soldier killed in the fighting during the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, in Petah Tikva, on May 11, 2026”

L'Orient-Le Jour

Middle East Eye reported that the special judicial body would effectively operate as a military court, overseeing cases of around 200 to 300 detainees accused of involvement in the 7 October 2023 attacks, with indictments filed before a military court in Jerusalem and charges including terrorism, murder, genocide, incitement to war and “undermining state sovereignty.”

Middle East Eye added that the bill stipulates anyone accused or convicted of involvement in the attacks would be barred from release in prisoner exchange deals, instead facing either life imprisonment or the death penalty, and it said the Israeli army’s chief of staff would appoint military prosecutors.

In a separate framing, Al Jazeera’s Q&A on the Palestinian prisoners execution law said the Israeli Knesset approved by a 62-48 vote, with one abstention, a law to execute Palestinian prisoners, and it stated that “Death by hanging” is carried out by a masked prison officer to ensure anonymity and protection.

The same Q&A said the law provides for execution within 90 days of the final decision and that the prime minister is authorized to request a delay for private reasons for a total not exceeding 180 days, while also stating that the law is not retroactive on current detainees but applies to new cases including about 250-300 Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem whose cases are under review in the military courts.