Day 948: Knesset Passes Military Tribunal Law for October 7 Perpetrators 93–0 — Genocide Convictions Carry Death Penalty; Convicted Cannot Be Released in Future Prisoner Exchanges

On May 12, 2026 (Day 948 / Ceasefire Day 215), the Israeli Knesset passed landmark legislation establishing a special military tribunal to try approximately 300 Palestinian detainees captured inside Israel during the October 7 attack. The final vote was 93 in favor and 0 opposed — representing rare near-total bipartisan consensus in an otherwise deeply divided Knesset. Key provisions of the law: a 15-judge panel qualified to include Supreme Court-caliber or internationally recognized jurists; authority to charge defendants under Israel's 1950 Genocide Prevention Law, creating for the first time a legal pathway to genocide charges for October 7 perpetrators; genocide convictions carry the death penalty; anyone convicted of October 7 crimes cannot be freed through future prisoner exchange agreements, permanently removing a significant Hamas leverage point in any future negotiations; and trials will be conducted publicly and broadcast online. The bill was co-submitted by coalition MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism, chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee) and opposition MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beytenu) — the bipartisan co-sponsorship reflected near-universal Israeli political consensus on prosecuting the October 7 perpetrators, even as debates over investigating Israeli government failures remained deeply divisive. The legislation was welcomed by bereaved family organizations as a concrete step toward justice for the perpetrators of the attack, while human rights groups including Amnesty International raised concerns about due process standards in military tribunals and the use of the death penalty. Al Jazeera described the law as a step toward 'death penalty and show trials for Oct. 7 detainees.' The Israeli government stated approximately 300 individuals captured inside Israel during the attack are currently held and will be tried under the new tribunal's jurisdiction. The law passed on the same day as the Civil Commission's 'Silenced No More' final sexual violence report, and one day before the Knesset committee revealed that the coalition's inquiry bill had quietly dropped 'independent investigation' language — the 93-0 tribunal vote thus stands as a striking contrast to the simultaneous political warfare over investigating Israeli government accountability.