A special tribunal will be founded to try the nearly 300 terrorists from Hamas’s Nukhba Force imprisoned by Israel for their participation in the October 7 massacre, public broadcaster KAN News has reported.
Though discussions on the matter were put on hold while there were still living hostages held in Gaza, KAN explained, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced that he plans to quickly advance the bill put forth by MK Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party) and MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beytenu) now that all living hostages have returned.
Additionally, the State Attorney’s Office seeks to decide on its prosecution in the coming weeks, the report noted.
According to the classified document outlining the court’s initial framework, KAN noted, the judges will be either those who have already retired or are about to retire.
An oversight committee made up of Levin, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Defense Minister Israel Katz will also be formed to discuss the policy of the terrorist trials, but will be prohibited from discussing specific cases.
Justice Ministry: Not all terrorists can be charged with genocide
The Justice Ministry believes that not all Nukhba terrorists can be charged with genocide and has already discussed other charges they could be tried with, according to KAN, such as “aiding the enemy in wartime” or “violating sovereignty.”
The terrorists will also be able to present appeals to the court, according to KAN.
Extending the detention time under Israel’s Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law was also discussed to permit the Israel Prison Service to imprison them indefinitely but was discarded due to legal difficulties, KAN reported.
However, Justice Ministry officials sent reservations to Levin in a classified document along with a request to hold a meeting between him and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara. Levin refused the meeting, stating it was unnecessary, the report added. This limited direct contact to ministry officials and the MKs who initiated the bill, with Levin contacted only indirectly.
The results of these contacts included an agreement to establish a special court for this issue, which will be staffed by judges who have already retired or are approaching retirement, KAN added.
Some decisions on prosecuting Nukhba terrorists have not been made, including the lack of agreement over whether it would be possible to prosecute the terrorists for regular offenses within the framework of the special court, KAN noted.
Also under discussion are ongoing concerns about the special rules of procedure and evidence that will apply in the special court. However, Justice Ministry officials agree that special rules and procedures are necessary.