Israel finally charges Oct. 7th terrorists, fearing US will do so first

Israel moves forward with terror indictments to avoid being “embarrassed” by the U.S. filing charges first.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Israel filed its first indictments against terrorists who participated in the October 7th massacres on Sunday morning, with the move reportedly spurned by concern that U.S. prosecutors would do so first.

Since October 7th, 2023, hundreds of terrorists believed to have been involved in the bloodiest terror attack in Israeli history have languished in jail, with Israeli prosecutors yet to officially indict them.

One issue slowing down the legal process is resistance from Israel’s public defenders, who have stated that they will refuse to represent the accused terrorists in court.

Israel’s decision to file an initial 22 indictments against terrorists who are believed to have taken part in the Kibbutz Nir Oz massacre came after the U.S. signaled it was ready to levy charges of its own against the detained Gazans, according to a report from Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.

Under American law, the U.S. can file charges against terrorists suspected to be involved with the murder of American citizens, regardless of where the killings took place.

A number of American citizens, including the Kedem-Siman Tov family, were murdered in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Tamar Kedem Siman Tov, 35, her husband Yonatan “Johnny” Siman Tov, 36, their twin daughters Shahar and Arbel, 5, and their 2-year-old son Omer were murdered by terrorists in the Gaza-adjacent community.

On the same day, Johnny’s mother, Carol Siman Tov, 70, a Pennsylvania native and nurse, was murdered in her own home on the kibbutz.

After learning that the U.S. was ready to charge the terrorists, Israeli officials asked Washington to delay filing indictments in order to “avoid embarrassing Israel,” Ynet reported.

The outlet reported that Israeli officials asked American prosecutors to wait until Israel lodges its indictments domestically, Ynet reported.

Israeli prosecutors have also asked the Knesset to pass a number of laws which would assist in charging October 7th terrorists, including a bill which would streamline the process for a “mega-trial” of all those involved.

Notably, the Ynet report revealed that the number of October 7th terrorists held by Israel is far smaller than initially stated.

According to the report, Israel has just 300 terrorists who participated in the massacres in custody, when it was previously reported that there were some 1,000 terrorists detained by Israel.

The IDF estimates that 5,000 people – among them approximately 2,000 terrorists aligned with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, along with an additional 3,000 Gazans unaffiliated with a specific terror group – invaded Israel on October 7th.