Jerusalem300 detained Palestinians face a special tribunal empowered to issue death sentences and permanently bar convicts from prisoner exchanges.
Israel’s Knesset voted 93-0 to create it under a law that requires presidential signature before taking effect.
Lawyers say a Supreme Court constitutional challenge remains possible.
Sources: Mada Masr
WHY EXCHANGES MATTER
Israel has freed roughly 7,000 Palestinian prisoners across major exchange deals since 1985, including 1,027 for one soldier (Gilad Shalit, 2011) and over 1,900 in the 2023-2025 Gaza ceasefire phases. Permanently barring a class of detainees from any future swap closes a lever every Israeli government has used.
WHAT ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION IS
Most Palestinians held by Israel are detained without charge or trial under military orders renewable indefinitely in six-month blocks. The practice dates to British Mandate emergency regulations of 1945, inherited by Israel in 1948 and never repealed. At the start of the October 7 war roughly 1,300 Palestinians were in administrative detention; that figure has since multiplied.
TWO LEGAL SYSTEMS, ONE TERRITORY
Israelis in the West Bank are tried in civilian courts under Israeli law. Palestinians in the same territory are tried in military courts, which have historically delivered conviction rates above 99%. A separate tribunal for October 7 cases adds a third tier — designed for a specific class of defendant rather than a specific class of crime.
THE DEATH PENALTY IN ISRAEL
Israel has executed exactly two people in its history: Adolf Eichmann in 1962 and Meir Tobianski in 1948 (the latter posthumously exonerated). Capital punishment exists on the books for genocide, treason in wartime, and Nazi war crimes, but has not been applied to security offenses. The new tribunal would mark a categorical break.
THE 93-0 SIGNAL
A unanimous Knesset vote is rare on contested legislation. It means the opposition — including parties that have criticized Netanyahu's judicial overhaul — chose not to be on record opposing harsh measures against October 7 detainees. The political cost of voting no exceeded the cost of voting yes.
THE COURT THAT MIGHT STILL INTERVENE
Israel's Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, has historically reviewed security legislation against the Basic Laws — most notably striking down parts of the 2023 judicial reform. A constitutional challenge to the tribunal law would test whether that posture survives the post-October 7 political climate.