Israel Passes Capital Punishment Law in 93-0 Vote
Israel’s parliament approved capital punishment for people linked to the October 7, 2023 attacks in a 93 votes to 0 vote, with 27 lawmakers absent or abstaining. The new law also sets up public trials for defendants accused of direct involvement in the Hamas-led assault and mass hostage-taking.
For victims’ relatives such as Carmit Palty Katzir, the vote turns a long-unfinished chapter into a courtroom process. Katzir said, “It’s important to understand that in so many ways this event hasn’t ended,” after joining parliamentary committee discussions on the bill.
Knesset Vote on October 7 Cases
The Knesset passed the legislation after lawmakers decided the March Death Penalty for Terrorists Law did not reach back to cover the October 7 attacks. The new measure creates a special legal framework for those accused of direct involvement, including members of the Nukhba special forces unit of the al-Qassam Brigades who were captured in Israel.
Those defendants are expected to face charges ranging from terrorism and murder to sexual violence and genocide. Under the new law, genocide will carry the death penalty, and the cases will go before a special military court in Jerusalem with rules different from regular criminal trials.
Public Trials in Jerusalem
Yulia Malinovsky, a co-sponsor of the bill and an opposition politician, said at a news conference ahead of the votes, “May everyone see how the victims and their families look into the whites of the eyes of those murderers, rapists and kidnappers,” and “May everyone see how the State of Israel is a sovereign state which knows how to hold those who harmed it to account.”
Malinovsky also said, “We have reached the finish line, which is actually the starting line: the beginning of historic trials, which the whole world will see.” The law sets hearings, verdicts, and sentencing to be filmed and broadcast on a dedicated website, making the process public in a way that regular criminal cases are not.
Victims, Families, and Objections
Carmit Palty Katzir said on Israeli army radio, “So many of the families have been left with completely open-ended questions about the murders,” and “A bulk of information simply doesn't get to us.” She said she took part in the committee discussions to safeguard the rights of the people most affected.
Her brother Elad Katzir was taken hostage from their childhood home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity. Her father, Rami, was killed, and her mother, Hana, was taken hostage and later released.
Israeli human rights groups opposed the principle of capital punishment and warned against show trials based on confessions allegedly extracted under torture. The new law follows the October 7, 2023 attacks, when Hamas-led fighters killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapped 251 people, and it comes in the shadow of a war that has already reshaped every legal and political decision around those cases.
The next step is the first of those special military court proceedings in Jerusalem, where the accused will face the law now written specifically for October 7 cases.
