Knesset approves bill allowing death penalty for Palestinians over 7 October attack

The Israeli Knesset has approved in its first reading a bill that would allow Palestinians accused of taking part in the 7 October 2023 attack to face the death penalty, Anadolu Agency stated yesterday.

On that day, Hamas attacked military bases and settlements near Gaza, killing and capturing Israelis. The movement said the attacks were in response to “the daily crimes of the occupation against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Israeli officials have described the 7 October attack as “the largest security and military failure” in the country’s history, causing serious damage to the image of Tel Aviv and its army worldwide.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday that “the Knesset plenary, which has 120 members, approved in the first reading a bill to develop a special judicial framework to try hundreds of participants in the 7 October attack.”

The report added that “the approval was passed by a majority of 19 Knesset members, with no opposition.”

The bill was proposed in collaboration between Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud), Knesset Constitution Committee head Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), and Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beiteinu).

Under the proposed law, a special judicial panel, led by a retired Central Court judge, would have broad powers to hear cases involving crimes such as genocide, violations of state sovereignty, assisting the enemy during wartime, and acts of terrorism.