Israel's parliament approved a historic law enabling the prosecution of hundreds of Nukhba terrorists for crimes committed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks and the days that followed. The legislation passed unanimously and establishes a special legal framework for what are expected to be the most significant trials in the country since the 1961 prosecution of Adolf Eichmann.

The law defines the acts committed between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10, 2023 as crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, rape, kidnapping and looting. It allows courts to impose the death penalty under existing laws and bars those convicted of capital offenses from being released in future prisoner exchange deals. More than 400 suspects are expected to be charged.

A special military court will be established in Jerusalem, with panels of three judges and an automatic right of appeal before a panel led by a retired Supreme Court justice. Prosecutors will rely on extensive evidence, including forensic findings, interrogation transcripts and hundreds of videos collected by the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency.

Officials said the trials, which may last several years and be broadcast internationally, are intended not only to deliver justice but also to create a lasting historical record of the atrocities.