Human rights groups have warned that a new Israeli bill proposing public trials and possible death sentences for Palestinians accused of involvement in the 7 October 2023 attack could violate international law and turn court proceedings into "show trials".
The legislation, titled the "Prosecution of Participants in the October 7 Massacre Events Bill", is set for its second and third readings in Israel's Knesset on Monday and is widely expected to pass, according to Israeli media.
The bill is sponsored by MK Simcha Rothman of the far-right Religious Zionist Party and opposition lawmaker Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu , with backing from Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
If approved, the law would allow Israel to hold public trials for Palestinians accused of taking part in the Hamas-led attacks and permit courts to impose the death penalty.
Rights groups say the bill strips defendants of basic legal protections and undermines the principles of fair trial and judicial independence.
Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel , said the legislation "subordinates every principle of fair criminal justice to a punitive and retributive spectacle".
The group identified several provisions it said violated due process, including the creation of special civil-military tribunals exempt from standard judicial safeguards and evidentiary rules.
The bill would also allow mass trials, reduce requirements for defendants to be physically present in court, and permit hearings to proceed largely through video participation.
Under the proposal, only a simple majority of judges would be needed to impose the death penalty, compared to the unanimity currently required under Israeli law. Panels issuing death sentences could also consist of three judges instead of five, while the military would retain discretion over judicial appointments.
The proceedings would be broadcast live, which Adalah warned would effectively transform the courts into "show trials".
Adalah attorney Muna Haddad, who submitted a formal objection to the bill, told The New Arab the proposal represented "a total collapse of the rule of law".
"It is engineered to replace a genuine judicial inquiry with a retributive framework of state-sanctioned 'show trials' that explicitly strip Palestinians of the most fundamental fair trial guarantees," she said.
Haddad added that the legislation would violate international law, particularly Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects the inherent right to life.
"Any sentence handed down by this tribunal, especially one involving the irreversible and cruel punishment of death, would constitute a grave violation of international human rights law," she said.
Amnesty International also criticised the proposal. Budour Hassan, the organisation's researcher on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories, told The New Arab that the bill risked "normalising an irreversible punishment that violates international human rights standards".
She said accountability for the 7 October attacks must take place through "fair, independent and transparent legal proceedings in line with international law and due process safeguards".
"If passed, this bill would further erode fundamental legal safeguards, place Israel in deeper conflict with its international obligations, and run counter to the global movement toward the total abolition of capital punishment," Hassan added.
The proposed legislation comes amid broader efforts by Israeli lawmakers to expand the use of the death penalty against Palestinians. A separate law championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has previously been condemned by UN experts as discriminatory.
The Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 captives taken to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to figures from Gaza health authorities.