Justice minister proposes tribunal with power to sentence October 7 perpetrators to death

Justice Minister Yariv Levin has introduced legislation to the Knesset that would establish a special criminal tribunal to try Gazans accused of carrying out massacres and atrocities on October 7, 2023, in a process that could result in death sentences being handed down to those convicted.

Under the legislation, the tribunal will be staffed by 15 judges who are either qualified to serve on Israel’s Supreme Court or international jurists deemed by the justice minister in consultation with the foreign minister to have the appropriate qualifications.

The tribunal will be able to try Gazans captured in Israel from October 7, 2023, to October 14 that year and accused of being Hamas operatives, thought to number in the hundreds, for crimes listed under Israel’s 1950 Law for the Prevention of Genocide, which is based on the 1948 Genocide Convention.

The state would be able to seek a death sentence, although that decision would need to be approved by the prime minister in consultation with senior security officials.

Levin supports the death penalty for those convicted of such crimes, and the indictments have been drafted to enable the suspects to be tried for crimes punishable by death.

In a statement to the press, Levin says that intensive work has been conducted since the October 7 Hamas invasion by the State Attorney’s Office, the police, and the Shin Bet, which carried out comprehensive investigations into the those detained in Israel during and immediately following the attacks, including gathering “unprecedented volumes of evidence” against them.

Draft indictments have been produced, but due to the large number of cases and the special circumstances of the crimes they are alleged to have committed, Levin says a need arose to make a number of legislative amendments “to ensure that the legal process is conducted efficiently and that justice is both done and seen.”

The Knesset Constitution Law and Justice Committee has already begun deliberations on the legislation, and Levin is seeking to bring the bill to its first reading in the Knesset and advance it as quickly as possible, now that the living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been returned.

Levin’s statement to the press was issued together with Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman and committee member MK Yulia Malinovsky of the Yisrael Beytenu opposition party.