Authorities clamp down on Pro-Palestine and anti-Iran War protests

Period October 2025 - June 2026

Introduction

In October 2025, a ceasefire agreement was reached between Hamas and Israel as part of a 20-point peace plan proposed by the United States. However, according to an Al Jazeera media report, between October 2025 and May 2026, Israel violated the agreement at least 3,005 times. Amnesty International stated that, despite the deal, Israel is continuing its genocide in Gaza. “Israel severely restricts the entry of supplies and the restoration of services essential for the survival of the civilian population – including nutritious food, medical supplies and electricity – as well as stringently limiting medical evacuations.”

Human Rights Watch noted that since the deal, “grave abuses, including the Israeli authorities' crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution of Palestinians, persist.”

Death Penalty law

The Israeli government has continued targeting Palestinians living in Israel and in the West Bank. On 30th March 2026, the Knesset approved the “Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, 2026”, which mandates death by hanging as the default sentence for cases involving an “act of terrorism” before Israeli military courts. These courts have exclusive jurisdiction over Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while Israeli citizens and residents are explicitly excluded from its application. In a statement, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination raised serious concerns that the law applies only to those convicted of “deliberate killing with the intent of ‘denying the existence of the State of Israel’, rendering it de facto applicable to Palestinians only.” It called on Israel to urgently repeal the law and “to end all policies and practices that amount to racial discrimination against and segregation of Palestinians.” Several organisations, including Adalah - the Legal Centre for Arab Minority rights in Israel, filed an urgent petition to the Israeli Supreme Court, demanding that the law be declared null and void. Furthermore, in May 2026, a military order issued in the West Bank goes far beyond the Death Penalty law. It expands the definition of death penalty-eligible crimes, shifts the burden of proof of key elements of the crimes to the defendant and creates a death penalty regime more far-reaching than the law itself.

In addition, the Israeli government has targeted the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel through other legal reforms. For instance, a new law passed on 21st January 2026, prevents graduates of Palestinian higher education institutions from teaching within the Israeli education system and East Jerusalem schools. In addition, on 10th February 2026, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had approved deportation orders against two Palestinian citizens of Israel. This marks the first time that the 2023 Law to Revoke Citizenship and Residency has been applied.

Peaceful Assembly

Conviction of two Palestinians due to protest chants

In a precedent-setting case, on 29th April 2026, the Haifa Magistrates’ Court convicted community leaders Mohammad Taher Jabareen and Ahmad Khalifa of “indirect incitement to terrorism” and “identification with a terrorist organisation” (Article 24 of Israel’s 2016 Counter-Terrorism Law) for their participation in a Gaza-related protest during October 2023. The charges carry five and three-year prison sentences, respectively. The court acquitted the pair of “direct incitement to terrorism”. Khalifa and Jabareen were held in administrative detention for four and eight months, respectively, before being released to house arrest. The activists' convictions related to their chants of commonly used political slogans during a protest, including “With soul and blood, we redeem you, Oh Gaza!”, “There is no solution except uprooting the occupier” and “Gaza shall not submit to the tank or cannon”. In a statement, Adalah raised concerns that previous indictments related to the same chants have not been brought to date, highlighting selective law enforcement. “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.”

Israeli Security Agency intimidates protesters

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) raised its concerns over media reports that several activists have received invitations for “friendly conversations” from the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and police. In one reported case, on 29th December 2025, police officers arrived at the home of an activist who had been involved in protests and gave her a form to appear for "questioning" at a district police station. When she arrived at the station, she was met with three Shin Bet officers who wanted to have a "friendly conversation" about posts she published on social media criticising government policy and calling for civil resistance. Around 20 activists involved in protests have received calls in the past two years.

Restriction on protests

On 22nd February 2026, groups of fascists protested at the entrance to a peace conference titled “In Pardes Hanna, We Choose Peace and Nonviolence,” sponsored by Peace Partnership, a coalition of Jewish and Arab groups. Before the event, far-right activists called for both the municipality and the police to cancel it. Days earlier, on 18th February 2026, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) contacted the Commander of the Coastal District and the Acting Legal Police after police issued unlawful demands to the organisers, including a requirement to obtain a permit and to hire security guards at their own expense. Following ACRI’s intervention, the police withdrew their demands.

On the same day, 22nd February, protests in solidarity with Palestinians in al-Mughayyir and surrounding villages, and against ethnic cleansing more broadly in the West Bank, were violently dispersed.

Attempts to suppress anti-Iran war protests

Protests against the US-Israeli war in Iran have been met with disproportionate force. On 4th March 2026, 20 people gathering for a vigil at Habima Square in Tel Aviv were met by 40 police officers who announced that the gathering was unlawful and “disturbing the peace”. According to ACRI, authorities used physical violence against protesters and seized their protest signs. One demonstrator was arrested and subjected to a full strip search, in violation of the law.

Similarly, on 10th March 2026, another protest at Habima Square in Tel Aviv was met by counter-protesters, declared unlawful due to “concern for public safety” and violently dispersed. On 28th March, another protest at the same location was violently dispersed on the grounds that Home Front Command guidelines prohibit gatherings near a protected space. According to media reports, at least 21 protesters were arrested, 13 in Tel Aviv and eight in Haifa, with protests also held in Jerusalem and Beersheba. On 31st March 2026, the ACRI filed a petition to the Supreme Court, demanding that the police and the Home Front Command allow demonstrations during the war with Iran, particularly if the demonstrations take place near protected spaces. The Court issued a decision instructing the police to allow demonstrations to take place, with a limit of no fewer than 150 people at locations in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Kfar Saba, and no fewer than 600 people in Habima Square in Tel Aviv. However, police violently dispersed a protest in Tel Aviv on 4th April 2026 and arrested 17 protesters. Protesters were injured, and a volunteer police physician interfered with doctors treating a demonstrator who suffered a cardiac event during the protest.

Association

Flotilla activists subjected to brutal violence

On 18th May, Israeli military unlawfully intercepted the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) in international waters near the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, as they attempted to break Israel's illegal blockade and provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. Participants on board included international solidarity activists, human rights defenders, journalists and medical volunteers. Video footage showed far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli prison guards and soldiers beating and humiliating activists. In a video posted by Ben-Gvir on social media, he is seen taunting activists by waving an Israeli flag, mocking and shouting: “The people of Israel live” in the face of one activist. This prompted condemnation from European governments.

According to Adalah, several activists sustained severe, widespread injuries, including at least three individuals who were hospitalised and subsequently released. The lawyers documented dozens of participants with suspected broken ribs and fractures. Reports also indicated the frequent use of tasers and the use of rubber bullets during the interception of the flotilla boats and on the military boat to which they were transferred.

It is documented that participants were subjected to severe degradation and sexual violence, including humiliating strip searches, sexual taunting, groping and pulling of genitals, and multiple accounts of rape. At least 15 sexual assaults have been documented, including anal rape and forcible penetration with a handgun. Further, several women participants had their hijabs ripped off by Israeli authorities.

Earlier on 30th April 2026, Israeli naval forces intercepted several vessels part of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters near Crete, Greece, with 175 activists onboard. While all other activists were released, Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila e Silva Oliveira and Palestinian Swedish-Spanish activist Saif Abukeshek were extraterritorially abducted, and illegally detained incommunicado for two days before being taken to the Shikma detention facility in southern Israel. The Israeli courts prolonged both activists' detentions, although no formal charges were filed. According to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders - a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) - both activists were subjected to ill treatment in detention. On 9th May 2026, the pair were released and deported.

Expression

Restrictions at universities

There have been further attempts to limit activism by Arab students at Ben-Gurion University. In a statement, Adalah accused the university of “pursuing a systematic policy of restricting freedom of expression and political organising of Arab students on Campus.” The organisation sent two letters to the university after it denied two Arabic theatrical events organised by Jabha and Jafra Student Movements. The university stated that these proposed activities were considered “cultural events” and must be organised exclusively through the Student Union, not directly through the university administration. However, Adalah argued that this is an arbitrary restriction with no legal basis in the university's regulations. The student organisers' requests for approval from the student union were also denied. “This exclusion is part of a broader campaign that has targeted the speech of Palestinian students over the past two years, and for which many were suspended or expelled wrongfully,” said Adalah.

In another development, during December 2025, Tel Aviv University announced a new policy to regulate public activity on campus, which imposes significant restrictions on civic space. The new policy includes several rules, including that protests take place off campus, police must approve every cultural event, and a prohibition on inviting external speakers to events.

Curtailing political speech

On 9th July 2025, the Knesset Ethics Committee suspended left-wing politician Dr. MK Ofer Cassif of the Hadash-Ta’al political party from participating in Knesset plenary and committee sessions (except for voting) for two months, commencing 19th October 2025. His suspension was in relation to his remarks on social media, which called out the genocide in Gaza, drawing comparisons with the Holocaust and referring to Israel’s military actions as “war crimes”. In its decision the committee stated that it “viewed any use of Holocaust imagery or comparisons to the Holocaust as a grave matter, and considered it a serious violation of the dignity of the Knesset and of public trust in the institution.” It further stated that, “statements claiming that the State of Israel is committing a ‘massacre in Gaza’ and ‘ethnic cleansing in the West Bank’ constitute a violation of the Ethics Rules, as they accuse the State of Israel and IDF soldiers of committing war crimes.” The Knesset’s Ethics Committee has suspended MK Cassif five times since December 2022, for a total of ten months. On 15th October 2025, Adalah petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that the Committee is “using its disciplinary powers to silence dissent and punish legitimate political expression”.

On 27th November 2025, the Disciplinary Court of the Bar Association in Tel Aviv suspended the licence of lawyer Maha Ighbaria, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, for one year. The suspension relates to charges of “unprofessional conduct as a lawyer” and “offending the dignity of the legal profession” in connection with two posts she made on her private Facebook page relating to the 7th October attack. One post read “I have always been and will always be on the side of my people, wherever they are, and by any form of resistance they choose that is legitimate against occupation, siege, and apartheid.” According to Adalah the case forms part of a broader trend where Arab lawyers are targeted by the Israel Bar Association (IBA) for political speech, while it ignores similar or far more extreme statements by Jewish-Israeli lawyers, such as calls amounting to incitement of genocide in Gaza. On 1st January 2026, the National Disciplinary Tribunal of the IBA temporarily halted Ighbaria’s one-year suspension, pending an appeal.

Concerns over media independence

Reporters without Borders (RSF) raised its concerns over the Communications (Broadcasting) Bill 2025, sponsored by Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, currently being debated in the Parliament. The bill proposes a new regulatory body, largely composed of members appointed by the Communications Minister himself. The body would have the power to censor broadcasts and would be subject to political influence. In addition, there are several other problematic parts of the bill, as analysed by ACRI, including:

● Provisions that would enable politicians to take control of or influence the regulator, which would weaken the independence and freedom of the press.

● The abolition of ethical obligations imposed on news providers and journalists; the procedures and policies designed to protect journalism from commercial and political influences; and the systems designed to ensure the quality, reliability, and independence of the news;

● The revocation of the prohibition against cross-ownership, which would allow the wealthy to take even more control of the communications market.

● Dismantling the ability to watch channels through analogue means, which would primarily harm those who live in communities where internet infrastructure is inadequate, populations with low digital literacy, and the elderly.

The bill has garnered widespread opposition, including from the Attorney General, who advises the government on legislative matters. The bill has been deemed unconstitutional by the Knesset. Two petitions against the bill have also been filed with the Supreme Court by the Union of Journalists in Israel and NGO Hatzlacha.

In addition, a specific bill concerning the public broadcaster Kan, introduced by a Likud MP, would give the Communications Minister direct decision-making power over the broadcaster’s budget. The bill still needs to pass before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation before being put to a vote after its first reading.

In another development related to media pluralism, RSF raised the alarm over the potential takeover of Reshet 13, an Israeli general-interest TV channel, by Patrick Drahi, a Franco-Israeli owner of the Israeli television news channel i24 News. RSF stated that journalists from Reshet 13 expressed concerns over a potential merger of the two media outlets, which have different editorial stances, with the former more critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, and the latter adopting a pro-government stance. On 13th March 2026, the current majority shareholder of Reshet 13 accepted the takeover bid from tech investors led by entrepreneur Assaf Rappaport, thereby rejecting the bid from Drahi, which was deemed irregular by the competition authority.

Amendment to “Al-Jazeera Law”

On 24th June 2025, the National Security Committee of the Knesset discussed a proposed amendment to the "Al-Jazeera law". The amendment would ban “foreign broadcast networks deemed a national security risk”, grant the Communications Minister the power to use satellite jammers to disrupt the reception of certain channels in the country, and to block YouTube or X accounts in Israel. This move is part of a series of steps taken by the Israeli government to hamper critical coverage as a result of the genocide in Gaza and the Israeli-US war on Iran and the wider region.

As previously documented on the CIVICUS Monitor, the Law for the Prevention of Foreign Broadcasting Harm to State Security (Temporary Order – Iron Swords), 5774-2024, also known as the ‘Al-Jazeera’ law grants the Minister of Communications the authority to block broadcasts of a foreign media entity which endanger state security and to shut down the entity’s offices in Israel, and prevents the court from intervening in the decision, even if it believes it should be overturned.