Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has reportedly blocked any open discussion on a controversial bill that would implement the death penalty for Nukhba terrorists involved in the October 7 atrocities, citing concerns that it could put the remaining Israeli hostages in Hamas custody at greater risk, according to a report by Maariv.
The bill—known as the “Genocide Prevention Law”—was put forth by Knesset members Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionist Party and Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu. It seeks to apply capital punishment to individuals convicted of aiding or promoting genocidal acts. As it stands, captured Nukhba operatives are being charged under conventional criminal law statutes.
This legislative effort would allow Israeli courts to impose the death sentence on any person proven to have taken part in the October 7 massacre, even if specific criminal acts cannot be individually attributed. It would represent a formal stance by the Israeli government that the attacks were a calculated attempt at genocide.
The law also proposes the creation of a unique judicial framework to manage these cases. This body would be granted flexibility to diverge from routine trial processes to address a range of priorities, such as “the need to protect victims of crimes and their families, to facilitate the hearing of evidence in multi-defendant proceedings, to reduce interim and preliminary proceedings, to make the hearing public and accessible to various target audiences in Israel and around the world, and to take the proceedings efficiently with the aim of doing justice.”
Though the Prime Minister’s Office declined to issue any official statement, sources say Netanyahu’s resistance is motivated by the fear that Hamas might respond violently to such a law, endangering the lives of hostages who remain in captivity. Erez Padan, the Southern District Attorney responsible for prosecuting members of Nukhba, is also said to be wary of pushing charges that lack strong courtroom evidence.
Despite the controversy, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee is laying the groundwork to move the bill forward when the political environment allows. The committee began reviewing the bill during a session on Monday, with the next confidential meeting slated for Tuesday.
Multiple senior officials from both the Knesset and the Justice Ministry confirmed the accuracy of these developments to Maariv.
{Matzav.com}