Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given his backing to a legislative proposal that would allow for the prosecution of terrorists involved in the Oct. 7 massacre, clearing the way for the bill to come up for a first reading next week.
Netanyahu rejected a separate push by National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir to include the terrorists under a broader death penalty law he is promoting.
The proposal, authored by lawmakers Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionist Party and Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu, was shaped in consultations with Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Defense Minister Israel Katz. The draft that will be debated and sent to the Knesset Constitution Committee includes key provisions outlined here for the first time:
Under the measure, defendants who carried out the massacre would also be prosecuted for holding hostages in the Gaza Strip. Cases would be heard by a special military tribunal established for that purpose with jurisdiction over crimes including genocide, harming state sovereignty, causing war and aiding the enemy — offenses that carry the death penalty. Some suspects would also face charges of murder, rape, kidnapping and looting.
The military court would have unusual authority to deviate from standard procedural rules in order to protect victims and their families and to safeguard public interest while maintaining transparency. Proceedings would be streamed on a dedicated website, though some sessions could be held in closed chambers.
The bill also strips the military chief of staff of the authority to intervene in verdicts and sentences, even though the tribunal would be a military court. Another provision would bar anyone convicted under the law for Oct. 7 crimes from ever being released, including in future hostage release deals. It also prohibits the Israeli state from funding any legal representation for the Oct. 7 defendants.
Earlier this month, Southern District Prosecutor Erez Padan said the prosecution office assigned to investigate more than 300 suspects in the massacre has completed drafting indictments. He said prosecutors had worked intensively with police and the Shin Bet domestic security service for two years to prepare charges against all those captured and detained in connection with the attack.
“This is an unprecedented investigation in scope, unlike anything in Israel and, I believe, in the world,” Padan said. “It involves a large number of suspects apprehended in three phases: Oct. 7, several days later as territory was being cleared and during ongoing operations that continue to this day. We investigated dozens of scenes of the massacre and destruction.”
Since the war began in October 2023, Justice Minister Levin has led a comprehensive effort to organize the prosecution files for the majority of the suspected terrorists. The cases include hundreds of witness statements and thousands of hours of video.
Ben‑Gvir on Thursday circulated an alternative draft that would incorporate the prosecution of the Oct. 7 terrorists directly into the death penalty law for terrorists, stating that any terrorist who caused the death of an Israeli citizen or resident should be sentenced to death as a matter of obligation. That version was not adopted.
The bill's sponsors said the proposed law represents a long-overdue step toward justice. “More than two years after the massacre, we’re finally beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel,” said Malinovsky. “This legislation is now on the fast track and will deliver justice to the people of Israel. The perpetrators of Oct. 7 will be tried in proceedings broadcast to the world. From the state’s darkest hour on that cursed Saturday, we will arrive at a moment of strength and national pride as we hold every one of the terrorists accountable.”
Rothman emphasized that the atrocities of Oct. 7 demand an extraordinary legal response. “This was not a criminal act but war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Rothman said. “The ordinary legal framework is not suited to address such horrors. After extended work, our proposed law now moves forward rapidly, establishing a dedicated judicial framework that enables the prosecution and punishment of all who took part in the massacre.
“Those who committed murder, rape, kidnapping or looting will not benefit from leniencies or prisoner release deals. This is a necessary step to ensure true justice for some of the worst acts of terror Israel has ever seen.”