Unprecedented Prosecution and Conviction for Protected Political Speech

30/04/2026

Haifa Magistrates’ Court convicts community leaders Attorney Ahmad Khalifa and Mohammad Taher Jabareen of “indirect incitement to terrorism” and “identification with a terrorist organization,” for leading peaceful anti-War protest in Umm al-Fahem in October 2023; the court acquitted them of direct incitement

Adalah: “This decision is part of a campaign of state persecution waged against Palestinian citizens of Israel since October 2023. It represents an unprecedented prosecution of protected speech, which criminalizes legitimate political protest by Palestinian citizens, cracks down on their freedom of expression, and creates a chilling effect. This case - in which the state harshly and wrongfully charged community leaders under the Counter-Terrorism Law - is clearly intended to convey an intimidating warning to the Palestinian public in Israel. Adalah will continue to fight against this blatant injustice using all available legal means.”

Yesterday, 29 April 2026, the Haifa Magistrates’ Court convicted community leaders Mohammad Taher Jabareen and Attorney Ahmad Khalifa on charges of “indirect incitement to terrorism” and “identification with a terrorist organization.” The charges stem from their participation in a peaceful protest against the war on Gaza held on 19 October 2023 in Umm al-Fahem, the largest Arab town in the center of Israel. The protest followed the massacre at Al-Ahli (Baptist) Hospital in Gaza on 17 October 2023. The court acquitted the community leaders of the charge of “direct incitement to terrorism.”

Read more about the case, the charges brought against them, the prolonged pre-trial detention they both faced, and the broader context on this webpage: Persecuted for Chanting Against the War: The Case of Mohammad Taher Jabareen and Ahmad Khalifa

Read the Court’s decision (Hebrew)

The court’s decision concludes a lengthy legal process, in which the indictment against them relied solely on traditional, well-established political chants voiced during the demonstration, rather than on any concrete act. No prior indictments had been filed for chanting such slogans at demonstrations held over the course of decades prior to this demonstration. The chants included no calls for violence or references to any organizations proscribed by law, as confirmed by police and testimonies of state witnesses during the proceedings.

Despite this, the court held that the combination of these chants just days after 7 October could be considered “indirect incitement,” without taking into account the immediate context of the protest, namely, the Al-Ahli Hospital massacre and the thousands of Palestinian civilians killed and injured in the 12 days following 7 October 2023. This offense carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison. The court also convicted the community leaders of “identification” with a terrorist organization, without specifying in the ruling which organization was being referred to. This offense carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment. In doing so, it adopted the prosecution’s interpretation of the slogans while disregarding the context and expert interpretation presented by the defense team.

The court addressed the defense team’s arguments regarding selective enforcement of the law, given that no legal action was taken against other participants in the same protest, although they were chanting the same slogans. It also considered data presented by the defense showing that these slogans had been used repeatedly in demonstrations both before and after 7 October 2023, without prosecutions. Here, the court noted failings on the part of the police in not summoning other demonstrators for questioning, but found that this did not affect the validity of the indictment.

Jabareen and Khalifa were represented by Adalah Attorneys Dr. Hassan Jabareen and Hadeel Abu Salih and Attorney Afnan Khalifa from the Human Rights Defenders Fund.

Following the decision, Adalah commented: “We are facing a distinctly political court, which is assisting the state in suppressing the political activity of Palestinian citizens of Israel. From the very first day of the legal proceedings, it was clear that the court would rely on vague interpretations taken out of the context of the demonstration, interpretations that undermine the principle of justice, as reflected in the court’s decision. Adalah’s legal arguments should have led to a full acquittal or the dismissal of the indictment. We also demonstrated selective enforcement of the law and presented the context of the protest slogans within the broader narrative of Palestinian political struggle in Israel, and yet the court chose to adopt the prosecution’s arguments.”

Khalifa and Jabareen were arrested during the aforementioned protest along with nine other protestors. The police later released most of them while keeping Khalifa and Jabareen in detention without bond. Khalifa spent approximately four months in prison, while Jabareen spent eight months under harsh detention conditions before being released under restrictive conditions.