Israel Establishes Military Tribunal for Hamas Fighters Linked to October 7

Israel's parliament passed legislation on May 11, 2026 establishing a military tribunal to try hundreds of Palestinian fighters linked to the October 7, 2023 attack that killed at least 1,200 people. The law was backed by 93 of the Knesset's 120 lawmakers. Israel holds an estimated 200-300 fighters captured during the attack who have not yet been charged. The three-judge panel in Jerusalem will try defendants under Israeli criminal statutes for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Military tribunal establishment

• ▪Lawmakers from both the governing coalition and the opposition authored the bill establishing the military tribunal.
• ▪The new law establishing the military tribunal was backed by 93 of the Knesset's 120 lawmakers.
• ▪Israel's parliament passed a law on May 11, 2026 establishing a military tribunal to try hundreds of Palestinian fighters linked to the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
• ▪The special military court established by the law will be presided over by a three-judge panel in Jerusalem.

October 7 attack details

• ▪Israel's assault on Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attack killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
• ▪Hamas fighters took 251 hostages back to Gaza during the October 7, 2023 attack.
• ▪Israel has been holding an estimated 200-300 fighters captured in Israel during the October 7, 2023 attack who have not yet been charged.
• ▪Israel's assault on Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attack left much of Gaza in ruins.
• ▪The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel was led by elite Nukhba force fighters from Hamas.
• ▪The October 7, 2023 attack on Israel killed at least 1,200 people.

Trial procedure provisions

• ▪The military tribunal could try fighters captured later in Gaza and suspected of participating in the October 7, 2023 attack or of having held or abused Israeli hostages.

Due process concerns

• ▪Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky claimed that the legislation establishing the military tribunal ensures a fair and lawful trial.
• ▪Ya'ara Mordecai said the new law establishing the military tribunal raised a risk of atrocity proceedings turning into politicised or symbolic show trials.
• ▪Ya'ara Mordecai, an international law expert at Yale Law School, said the new law establishing the military tribunal raised concerns about due process given the military court setting.

Capital punishment provisions

• ▪The last person executed in Israel was Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi Holocaust, hanged in 1962 after being captured in Argentina by Israeli agents.
• ▪Military courts in the occupied West Bank can sentence Palestinian convicts to death but have never done so.

International legal scrutiny

• ▪The International Criminal Court is probing Israel's conduct of the Gaza conflict.
• ▪Israel is fighting a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
• ▪The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
• ▪Hamas Gaza spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the new law establishing the military tribunal serves as a cover for the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.

Perspective of International law experts and due process advocates

• ▪Ya'ara Mordecai said the new law establishing the military tribunal raised a risk of atrocity proceedings turning into politicised or symbolic show trials.
• ▪Ya'ara Mordecai, an international law expert at Yale Law School, said the new law establishing the military tribunal raised concerns about due process given the military court setting.

Perspective of Hamas and Palestinian representatives

• ▪Hamas Gaza spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the new law establishing the military tribunal serves as a cover for the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.

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