Israel Public Defense won't provide legal assistance to arrested Hamas terrorists

Tel Aviv, Nov 10

The Israel Public Defense, which generally provides legal assistance to those who cannot afford to engage a lawyer, has categorically stated that no lawyer or law firm will represent any Hamas terrorist who was arrested after the October 7 mayhem and massacre.

The decision of the Israel Public Defense was welcomed by the Justice Minister Yariv Lenin.

"I welcome and support the decision of the Public Defense refusal to represent Hamas murders who had carried out murder and mayhem on October 7 in Israel.”

He said that the Justice Ministry under him will continue to work to bring the arrested terrorists to justice.

Chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Commission, M.K.Simcha Rottman also said that the Public Defense must not represent the terrorists in courts of law.

“Since the beginning of the Swords of Iron war, I had taken a position that criminal law is not the correct tool to deal with terrorism in general and Hamas terrorism in particular.

"We need a new infrastructure that is suited to dealing with lowly murderers who committed barbaric rape and massacre which criminal law cannot understand in general," he added

In 1961, the Israel Public Defense had refused to represent Otto Adolf Eichman, a former Nazi officer who was captured by Israel's Mossad's intelligence agency in May 1960 in Argentina and was tried before the Supreme Court of Israel.

As a result, Eichman had to bring a lawyer from Germany to represent him.

The highly-publicised trial of Eichman, who was close to Adolf Hitler and one of the major organisers of the Holocaust, resulted in his conviction in Jerusalem after which he was executed in 1962.

Eichman was put on trial for crimes he had committed against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes under the Nazi regime.