Adalah Appeals State Attorney’s Decision Refusing to Investigate Incitement to Genocide by Israeli Public Figures
On 30 July 2026, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel appealed to the State Attorney’s Office Appeals Department against the decision refusing to open criminal investigations into prominent Jewish Israeli public figures regarding statements inciting severe crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, including incitement to genocide.
The appeal follows a two-year refusal by Israeli authorities to investigate explicit, recorded statements by public officials and public figures calling for the destruction of Gaza’s civilian population, the starvation of Palestinians, and their forcible displacement. In its initial demand in April 2024, Adalah documented over 40 statements made by 21 high-ranking Israeli public officials, cabinet ministers, members of Knesset, and public figures. Adalah’s Legal Director, Attorney Suhad Bishara argued in the letter that these statements amount to public direct incitement to genocide, as well as incitement to violence, racism and terrorism. Adalah also referred to a database of incidents of incitement compiled by Law for Palestine, which included over 500 such statements by Israeli officials and public figures.
Background
On 12 December 2024, the Israeli Deputy State Attorney for Special Matters informed Adalah that it adopted the police’s position and decided not to open a criminal investigation into statements made by Rabbi Eliyahu Mali, who instructed his students that the rule in Gaza is “do not leave a soul alive,” including “women and babies.” In January 2026, the Attorney General and the State Attorney officially notified Adalah of their decision not to order the opening of a criminal investigation following their review of the many statements documented in Adalah’s letter. This reply further clarified that the Deputy State Attorney for Special Matters separately concluded that the statements by former MK Moshe Feiglin, journalist David Mizrahy Verthaim, and Rabbi Eliyahu Mali did not justify opening a criminal investigation.
In March 2026, the Appeals Department clarified that while decisions taken directly by the Attorney General carry no statutory right of appeal, Adalah could challenge the Deputy State Attorney’s decisions regarding Mali, Feiglin, and Verthaim. However, when Adalah requested access to the examination materials to prepare an appeal, the State Attorney’s Office rejected the request in May 2026.
The Appeal
In the appeal, Adalah Attorney Muna Haddad argues that:
-
The decision not to open a criminal investigation against Mali, Feiglin, and Verthaim relies on a generic, blanket assertion that the statements do not justify a criminal investigation, without detailing its legal reasoning, evaluating the statutory elements of the offense, or explaining why the statements fail to establish a reasonable suspicion.
-
The statements made by the three figures are explicit, recorded, and satisfy statutory thresholds for criminal incitement. The appeal addresses clear, unambiguous public statements which trigger an immediate duty to open criminal investigations under domestic law, including for offenses of direct and public incitement to genocide, as well as incitement to terrorism, incitement to violence, and incitement to racism.
The appeal specifically details the rhetoric of the three figures:
-
Rabbi Eliyahu Mali (7 March 2024): Declared that the rule applying to Gaza is “do not leave a soul alive,” explicitly clarifying that this extends to women, babies, and “the future generation,” stating: “Today he is a baby, tomorrow he is a fighter.”
-
Former MK Moshe Feiglin: Repeatedly called to turn Gaza into “Dresden,” to create a “firestorm” sweeping the Strip, to “flatten” Gaza, and to enforce “conquest, expulsion, and settlement,” stating on 17 October 2023 that “Gaza needs to be flattened and restored to Israeli rule.”
-
Journalist David Mizrahy Verthaim: Called to abandon the core humanitarian principle of proportionality, demanding an “unproportional” response to turn the Gaza Strip into a “slaughterhouse,” while referring to Palestinians as “human animals”—rhetoric containing clear patterns of dehumanization and calls for extreme violence that characterize incitement to genocide.
The Israeli authorities’ failure to act violates international obligations to prevent Genocide and contravenes binding ICJ orders: The duty to effectively investigate severe crimes is firmly rooted in international law. Article 3 of the 1948 Genocide Convention mandates that states intervene at the incitement stage itself, as direct and public incitement is an independent offense requiring immediate prevention. By refusing to investigate explicit calls for mass destruction, the State Attorney’s Office directly violates this duty, as well as the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in South Africa v. Israel, which specifically instructed Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent and punish genocidal rhetoric.
Read the appeal here
Adalah will also file a motion requesting that the Attorney General and State Attorney reconsider their decision not to order criminal investigations into the statements made by other officials and public figures.
Related press releases:
Adalah Demands Israel Investigate and Prosecute Incitement to Genocide by Public Figures 17/04/2024
In a Historic Decision, the ICJ Orders Israel to Prevent Genocide in Gaza 26/01/2024
