United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called on Israel Wednesday to cancel newly approved legislation creating a special legal framework to prosecute terrorists involved in the Hamas-led October 7 massacre.
The measure, which passed the Knesset with support from 93 lawmakers, establishes a dedicated military tribunal system for trying those accused of participating in the October 7 attacks. Under the legislation, the harshest possible punishment is the death penalty.
Lawmakers also approved an additional provision introduced by MKs Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionist Party and Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu that bars terrorists convicted under the new system from ever being released, including in future prisoner exchange agreements.
Turk argued that although those responsible for the October 7 atrocities must face justice, the structure created by the legislation does not satisfy international legal norms.
“There must be full accountability for these horrific attacks, but this cannot be achieved through trials that fall short of international standards,” Turk stated, as quoted by the AFP news agency. “This law must be overturned. This law will inevitably institutionalize one-sided justice and discrimination against Palestinians, which cannot be in anyone’s interest and runs counter to international human rights law.”
Israel’s delegation in Geneva strongly rejected Turk’s criticism.
In comments provided to AFP, Israel’s mission said the UN human rights office should devote its attention to formally classifying Hamas as a terrorist organization rather than attacking Israel’s efforts to prosecute those responsible for the massacre.
The mission urged the UN to “cease blaming Israel for seeking justice for victims.”
Israeli representatives explained that the decision to create a military court structure stemmed from the extraordinary scale of the October 7 crimes and the enormous amount of evidence connected to the attacks. Officials also stressed that the legislation does not break with existing legal principles.
“The law does not alter substantive criminal law, create new offences or penalties, establish retroactive criminal liability, or impose a mandatory death sentence”, the mission noted.
I applaud the King’s efforts. The solution is to allow the police to use their skills and equipment to enforce the law and keep the animals under control. One club against the side of the head solves most problems!
Of course the UN YEMACH SH’MOM is afraid that all their people are going to be uncovered.
what are you afraud of – that your UNRWA people will be prosecuted and convicted – you didn’t do anything to avoid it
The only tribunals the UN permits are those headed by the UN itself, with the outcome being written beforehand.
What is sick and insane about this is that they saw the videos of that day.
I didn’t because of my filter, and I didn’t read detailed reports of the atrocities either, just here and there, heard about some of the sickening details.
And even without viewing all the horror, I felt horrified by it all.
Yet these people saw and heard exactly what happened, yet they respond in this way.
Sick and insane.