The Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee chairman, MK Simcha Rothman, said on Wednesday that work had begun on the planned court complex in Atarot, where hundreds of terrorists suspected of taking part in the October 7 massacre are expected to stand trial in a proceeding expected to pose extraordinary legal, logistical, and security challenges.
Rothman, who co-sponsored the law with Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky, toured the designated site in the Atarot industrial zone in northern Jerusalem, where he said that preparations had begun for the court complex.
Rothman said the tour was joined by Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yair Barkat, who was appointed by the IDF chief of staff as project manager for implementing the law, as well as representatives from the IDF Planning Directorate, the Israel Prison Service, and Central Command, who are handling the security and logistical challenges of transporting and trying high-risk defendants.
The beginning of work at the site, as described by Rothman, would mark the move from legislation to implementation. The Knesset passed the law last month by a 93-0 vote, creating a special framework for prosecuting terrorists involved in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and authorizing the tribunal to impose the death penalty.
The law was designed to deal with a legal challenge almost without precedent in Israeli history: how to prosecute hundreds of suspects allegedly involved in a mass terrorist attack that included murder, abduction, sexual violence, looting, and other crimes alleged to have been committed during the attack, while also preserving evidence, protecting witnesses, securing the proceedings, and allowing the public record of the massacre to be documented.
The framework of the law is meant to handle cases involving Hamas terrorists and others involved in the massacre, including Nukhba terrorists captured inside Israel. Possible charges are expected to range from terrorism and murder to sexual violence and genocide-related offenses.
The law also creates special procedural arrangements for the trials, including dedicated security provisions, audiovisual documentation, preservation of trial recordings, and periodic reporting to the Knesset.
The government earlier this month approved a budget of more than NIS 1 billion for the years 2026-2029 to implement the law, including construction of the court complex, prosecution offices, an IDF headquarters facility, secure transport systems, manpower, broadcasting infrastructure, communications, medical services, and other operational needs.
Bulldozers have already begun preparing ground, MK says
Rothman said on Wednesday that bulldozers had begun preparing the ground at Atarot, following approval of the special budgetary framework. He also said the process of recruiting designated judges was in its final stages, with the legal system preparing for the first indictments in the near future.
“The work to establish the complex where the Nukhba terrorists will be tried for the crimes they committed against our people and our state has already begun,” Rothman said.
Rothman said the lawmakers who initiated the law would continue to follow its implementation through oversight hearings, ongoing work with relevant authorities, and site visits.
“The goal is clear: to ensure that the preparations for the modern Eichmann trials are carried out efficiently and without unnecessary delays,” he said.
Malinovsky said that the process had “started moving,” adding that the sponsors of the law would continue to oversee implementation through follow-up hearings, daily contact with officials, and additional site visits “to make sure the preparations for the trials are carried out efficiently and quickly.”
The site, Rothman said, is expected to be heavily fortified and secured to allow the regular transport of hundreds of Nukhba terrorists from prison facilities to the courtrooms under heavy guard.
Rothman’s announcement came on the same day that the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) expressed concern over the law establishing the special military tribunal, saying that accountability for the October 7 attacks must be pursued through proceedings that meet international fair-trial standards.
The organization pointed to several aspects of the law that it said required scrutiny, including the composition of the tribunal, judicial appointments, possible deviations from ordinary evidentiary and procedural rules, multiple-defendant indictments, proceedings held in absentia in certain cases, and the tribunal’s authority to impose the death penalty by a simple majority of judges.
The IBAHRI also raised concerns about the use of military tribunals for civilians in capital cases, saying that proceedings involving the death penalty require strict adherence to fair-trial guarantees.
October 7 trials sparks major debate for lawmakers
Those concerns are part of a broader debate that has accompanied the law since its advancement. The Court Administration warned lawmakers in December that any model chosen for prosecuting October 7 perpetrators would require sweeping legislative changes, major budget allocations, secure facilities, protected witness arrangements, dedicated judges, orderly evidence rules, and careful preservation of fair-trial guarantees.
Supporters of the law have argued that ordinary criminal proceedings cannot properly handle the scale, gravity, and historical significance of the October 7 cases, and that the trials must allow victims, families, and the public to see the perpetrators held accountable.
Critics, including human-rights groups and some legal scholars, have warned that the combination of military-court proceedings, altered procedural rules, mass prosecutions, and the possibility of capital punishment could expose Israel to international legal criticism and future court challenges.
The first indictments have not yet been filed, but the announcement marked one of the clearest signs so far that the special tribunal framework is moving from legislation into implementation.
Keshet Neev contributed to this report.