Israeli lawmakers set up special tribunal, allow for death penalty for Hamas-led 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 Hamasled attack that triggered the war in GazaThe measure passed 930 in the 120seat Knesset or parliament reflecting widespread support for punishing those found responsible for what was the deadliest attack in Israels historyThe remaining 27 lawmakers were absent or abstained from votingRights 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 trialDefendants can appeal their sentences but the appeals have to be heard by a separate special appeals court rather than regular appeals courtsBecause 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 televisionEichmann was executed by hanging the last time the death penalty was carried out in Israel though technically capital punishment remains on the books for acts of genocide espionage during wartime and certain terror offensesOpponents of the bill also say that livestreaming the proceedings before guilt is established risks turning the trials into a spectacleThey have raised questions about the reliability of the evidence that may be presented saying it could have been extracted by harsh interrogation methodsThe war began when Hamasled militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023 killing some 1200 people and taking 251 as hostages Israels ensuing blistering offensive on Gaza has killed over 72628 Palestinians including at least 846 killed since a ceasefire took hold last OctoberThats according to the Gaza Health Ministry which doesnt differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and childrenThe figures by the ministry which is part of the Hamasled government are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent expertsIsraeli forces also killed hundreds of militants in battles in the coastal enclave and took an unknown number of suspects into Israeli custody where they now await trialSimcha Rothman one of the bills sponsors who is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus ruling coalition said the overwhelming consensus for the bill in the Knesset shows Israeli lawmakers can come together around a common missionSeveral Israeli rights groups including Hamoked Adalah and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel said on Monday that while justice for the victims of October 7 is a legitimate and urgent imperative any accountability for the crimes must be pursued through a process which includes rather than abandons the principles of justiceThe bill is separate from a law passed in March that approved the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis a measure harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumaneThat law applies to future cases and is not retroactive so it could not apply to the October 2023 suspectsAccording to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel the country still holds about 1300 Palestinians from Gaza without charge in its detention facilitiesAt least 7000 Palestinians from Gaza had been held in Israeli custody since October 2023 and 5000 of them were later releasedThe 1300 number does not include those held on suspicion of attacking Israel on October 7 or involvement in holding the hostagesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever