Israeli MPs back special tribunal with death penalty powers for alleged 7 October attackers

Israeli lawmakers have approved setting up a livestreamed special tribunal with the power to sentence to death Palestinians convicted of taking part in the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza. The measure was passed by 93 votes to none in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament, reflecting widespread support among Israel’s Jewish majority for punishing those found responsible for the deadliest single attack in Israel’s history. The remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained from voting. The bill is separate from a law passed in March that approved use of the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane. The October 2023 attack, led by elite “Nukhba” force fighters of Hamas , was the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. At least 1,200 people were killed, the majority of them civilians. During the attack and in its aftermath, Israeli forces captured about 300 alleged attackers inside Israel, who have been held since then. Under the new legislation, the tribunal will be able to charge the alleged assailants under Israel’s 1950 law for the prevention of genocide, which carries the death penalty. Rights groups have criticised 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. …