Former Chief Military Prosecutor Tapped to Lead Prosecution of Nukhba Terrorists

Attorney Jana Modgavrishvili, a former chief military prosecutor, has been chosen to lead the effort to prosecute Nukhba terrorists, according to a report published on October 25, 2026.

The Jerusalem Post has asked the IDF to clarify what her responsibilities will include and what timetable is planned for the prosecutions. No answer was included in the report.

Her appointment comes as Israel readies a special military court in Jerusalem. The court is meant to try suspects in the October 7, 2023, massacre led by Hamas, as well as the holding of hostages in Gaza. The planned proceedings are not limited to members of Hamas's Nukhba force and also cover others suspected of taking part.

The legal framework for the trials moved through the Knesset on the initiative of MKs Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionist Party and Yulia Malinovsky of Yisrael Beytenu. On May 11, lawmakers approved legislation creating a dedicated structure for the prosecutions. The vote was 93 in favor and none opposed.

On June 17, Rothman and Malinovsky visited the Atarot area in northern Jerusalem, where two possible locations for the court were shown to them. The plans described at that time called for nine courtrooms, along with seating for the families of victims, members of the public and journalists.

Rothman has pointed to several practical factors behind the choice of location, including closeness to Ofer Prison and to crossings used by Palestinian lawyers. He has also described holding the trials in Atarot as an expression of Israeli sovereignty.

Modgavrishvili spent just over twenty years in the military. She served as a military judge and held other legal posts, and in her final four years of service she was chief military prosecutor.

In June 2013, she was named to examine complaints from people questioned by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), working within the Justice Ministry. The appointment was part of a structural reform that took the handling of such complaints out of the Shin Bet, which had previously dealt with them internally. The change was meant to increase public confidence in how complaints against the agency are handled.