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Israel mulls creation of special tribunal for captured Hamas terrorists

The Knesset is likely to pass legislation to form and empower a tribunal ‘to present to the world the goals, roots, funders, and activities of the murderous [Hamas] terror group.’

By JNS

Israel is reportedly planning to create a special tribunal to oversee the trials of hundreds of captured Hamas terrorists who perpetrated the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,400 people in southwestern Israel.

Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that discussions are taking place on how to try the terrorists, and the prevailing sentiment is that the regular criminal justice system is not the appropriate avenue.

Some 200 Hamas gunmen were captured in Israel during the invasion, and additional Palestinian terrorists have been taken prisoner as the IDF continues its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Kan reported that the Knesset is likely to pass legislation to form and empower a tribunal “to present to the world the goals, roots, funders, and activities of the murderous [Hamas] terror group.”

The Israel Justice Ministry declined to comment on the report.

On Wednesday, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) released an interrogation video of a captured Hamas terrorist, who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz in southern Israel.

“The mission was simply to kill. We weren’t supposed to kidnap, just kill,” Hamas operative Omar Sami Marzuk Abu Rusha told Shin Bet agents. “To kill every person we see and come back.”

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Asked if he was told to murder women and children as well, Abu Rusha said: “Yes.”

In the six-minute interrogation tape, the terrorist calmly describes murdering young children hiding in a safe room.

“We heard sounds of young children,” he said. “The cries of young children. A young child, something like that.

“I shot and Abu Kamil shot. We shot at the door,” he added. “Until we didn’t hear noise anymore.”

Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces released a recording of another Hamas terrorist boasting to his parents about how many Jews he had killed.

“Hi Dad, I’m talking to you from Mefalsim [a kibbutz in southern Israel]. Open my WhatsApp now, and you’ll see all those killed. Look how many I killed with my own hands! Your son killed Jews,” the terrorist shouts enthusiastically.

“May God protect you,” his father says.

“Dad, I’m talking to you from a Jewish woman’s phone. I killed her, and I killed her husband. I killed 10 with my own hands!”

“God is great,” the father can be heard saying.