The bill would create a special legal framework for prosecuting Hamas terrorists and others involved in the massacre, including Nukhba terrorists captured inside Israel.
A bill granting authority to impose the death penalty and conduct public trials for terrorists involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks is set to advance to its second and third readings on Monday, as the Knesset opened its summer session on Sunday following more than a month-long spring recess.
The bill was sponsored by MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) and MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beytenu), in a rare case in which legislation is advanced and supported by both the coalition and the opposition.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has pushed for the bill, said on Sunday that after the October 7 massacre, he had instructed “the immediate establishment of a working team whose purpose is to ensure that the terrorists and their accomplices are brought to trial and punished, and that justice is fully carried out.”
“The law regulates this, including full authority to impose the death penalty,” he added.
The three held a press conference in the Knesset, ahead of the final votes in the Knesset plenum to pass the proposal into law.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), and MK Yulia Malinovsky hold joint press conference in Knesset ahead of upcoming vote on bill to publicly prosecute Oct. 7 terrorists, Sunday May 10, 2026. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Malinovsky said that she had been advancing the legislation since immediately after October 7. “Now, nearly three years later, we have reached the finish line, which is actually the starting line – the beginning of historic trials that the entire world will witness,” she explained.
“Everyone will see how the State of Israel is a sovereign country that knows how to hold accountable those who harmed it. Everyone will see how the victims and their families look directly into the eyes of those murderers, rapists, and kidnappers,” she added.
Special terrorist prosecution framework
The bill would create a special legal framework for prosecuting Hamas terrorists and others involved in the massacre, including Nukhba terrorists captured inside Israel.
Charges are set to range from terrorism and murder to sexual violence and even offenses of genocide.
According to the bill, the cases would go before a special military court, which would differ from regular criminal trials.
The military court and special legal framework are meant to handle a legal process of massive size and significance. Because of this, the bill would allow the court to adjust some normal rules of evidence and procedure.
That could include rules on testimony, detention, and cases with multiple defendants, but only if the court says they are needed for truth and justice, and do not substantially harm the fairness of the trial.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin, MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), and MK Yulia Malinovsky hold joint press conference in Knesset ahead of upcoming vote on bill to publicly prosecute Oct. 7 terrorists, Sunday May 10, 2026. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The trial would take place in Jerusalem, and its key moments, including the opening hearing, verdict, and sentencing, would be filmed and broadcast on a dedicated website. A special Israel Prison Service unit would secure the court.
The bill also includes provisions to establish a dedicated military headquarters to oversee the proceedings, create an inter-ministerial steering committee, and preserve video and audio documentation in the State Archives.
While a bill was passed in March to legislate the death penalty for terrorists in Israel, it cannot be implemented retroactively, causing a separate bill to be required to prosecute terrorists involved in the October 7 attacks.
Capital punishment has only been carried out twice in Israel’s history.
The last person to be executed by Israel was Nazi Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann, who was hanged in 1962.