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Israel’s Knesset advanced a bill that would allow Israeli courts to impose the death penalty on Palestinians accused of involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, events, after it passed a first reading late Monday, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
KAN reported Tuesday that the bill passed its first reading late Monday with the backing of 19 lawmakers, with no votes cast against it during the session.
The proposed legislation seeks to establish a special judicial mechanism to prosecute hundreds of Palestinians accused of taking part in the Oct. 7 events, which Israeli officials have repeatedly described as the most serious security failure in the country’s history.
According to the broadcaster, the bill was introduced through a joint initiative by Justice Minister Yariv Levin of the ruling Likud party, Constitution Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman of the far-right Religious Zionism party, and Yisrael Beiteinu lawmaker Yulia Malinovsky.
Under the draft, a dedicated court would be created and chaired by a retired district court judge, with broad authority to hear cases involving charges such as genocide, harming state sovereignty, aiding the enemy during wartime, and terrorism-related offenses.
The legislation explicitly allows for capital punishment upon conviction and bars defendants tried under this framework from being included in any future political negotiations or prisoner exchange agreements.
It also requires that court hearings be broadcast live on a designated website and preserved in Israel’s state archives.
The bill will now be referred to the Knesset’s Constitution Committee for further review ahead of its second and third readings. Under Israeli law, legislation must pass three readings to become binding.
Israeli authorities have not released official figures on the number of Palestinians detained in connection with the Oct. 7 events, though Israeli media estimates put the number in the thousands.
Senior Israeli officials on Monday publicly advocated for a permanent occupation of the Gaza Strip, defying a U.S.-backed plan that explicitly rules out Israel’s military presence or annexation of the territory.
The statements were made during a conference held at the Israeli Knesset titled “Gaza The Day After,” Israel’s right-wing Channel 7 reported.
Levin said Israel must maintain control over Gaza as part of what he described as its broader territorial claims.
“We need to be present in Gaza and across the entire Land of Israel,” Levin said. “This is, first and foremost, our country.”
Also speaking at the conference, Rothman said Israel should retain full authority over Gaza.
“Israel must keep control of the Gaza Strip,” Rothman said, according to the broadcaster.
More than 71,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and more than 171,000 others injured in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 in a brutal Israeli war that has left the enclave in ruins.
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