Israel Passes Law to Create Military Court for Hamas “Elite Force” Members

(MENAFN) According to reports, the Israeli parliament has passed legislation creating a dedicated military court to handle cases involving individuals Israel identifies as members of Hamas’s so-called “elite force.”

The bill was initially approved in a preliminary reading in mid-January after it was introduced by lawmakers Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism party and Yulia Malinovsky of the Yisrael Beiteinu party.

The Knesset later moved the proposal through its second and third readings, officially enacting it into law. The legislation received broad backing, with 93 lawmakers voting in favor and no votes recorded against or abstaining.

An Israeli newspaper described the new legal framework as enabling what it called “unprecedented trials,” and compared the expected proceedings to the historical trial of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, calling them the most significant legal cases in Israel since then.

Eichmann was abducted from Argentina in 1960 and later tried and executed in 1962.

Hamas did not issue an immediate response regarding the new law.

Israeli authorities claim that Palestinians detained following the October 7, 2023 events are affiliated with Hamas’s “elite force,” although they have not yet undergone trial.

Meanwhile, rights organizations say that more than 9,600 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons. These groups allege that detainees face torture, starvation, and medical neglect, and claim that many have died while in custody.

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