Israeli lawmakers set up tribunal, allow for death penalty for October 2023 attackers

"Israeli lawmakers approved a bill on Monday setting up a special tribunal that would try and have the authority to sentence to death Palestinians convicted of taking part in the 2023 Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in Gaza. The measure passed 93-0 in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, reflecting widespread support for punishing those found responsible for what was the deadliest attack in Israel's history. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained from voting."

"Rights groups have criticized the measure, saying it makes the death penalty too easy to impose while also doing away with procedures safeguarding the right to a fair trial. Defendants can appeal their sentences but the appeals have to be heard by a separate, special appeals court rather than regular appeals courts. Because the bill empowers a panel of judges to hand down the death penalty by a majority vote and requires the trials to be conducted in a livestreamed Jerusalem courtroom it has drawn comparisons to the 1962 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, which was broadcast live on television."

"Opponents of the bill also say that livestreaming the proceedings before guilt is established risks turning the trials into a spectacle. They have raised questions about the reliability of the evidence that may be presented, saying it could have been extracted by harsh interrogation methods. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 as hostages."

"Israel's ensuing blistering offensive on Gaza has killed over 72,628 Palestinians, including at least 846 killed since a ceasefire took hold last October. That's according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civil"

Israeli lawmakers approved a bill establishing a special tribunal with authority to sentence Palestinians convicted of involvement in the 2023 Hamas-led attack that began the Gaza war. The bill passed 93-0, with 27 lawmakers absent or abstaining. Rights groups criticized the measure for making the death penalty easier to impose and for removing procedures meant to protect fair-trial rights. Defendants may appeal, but appeals must be heard by a separate special appeals court rather than regular appeals courts. The tribunal can impose death by majority vote, and trials must be livestreamed from a Jerusalem courtroom. Critics compared the setup to the televised Eichmann trial and warned livestreaming could turn proceedings into a spectacle, while also questioning evidence reliability and potential coercive interrogation methods.

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