Israel

The Definition of Terrorism in Domestic Law

Israel's 2016 Counterterrorism Law defines a terrorist act as follows:

an act that constitutes an offence, or a threat to carry out such an act, which meets all of the following:

(1) It was carried out with a political, religious, nationalistic or ideological motive;

(2) It was carried out with the intention of provoking fear or panic among the public or with the intention of compelling a government or other governmental authority, including a government or other governmental authority of a foreign country, or a public international organization, to do or to abstain from doing any act;

(3) The act carried out or threatened to be carried out, involved one of the following, or posed an actual risk of one of the following:

  (a) Serious harm to a person's body or freedom;

  (b) Serious harm to public health or safety;

  (c) Serious harm to property, when in the circumstances in which it was caused there was an actual possibility that it would cause the serious harm mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) or (b) and that was carried out with the intention of causing such harm;

  (d) Serious harm to religious objects; here, "religious objects" means a place of worship or burial and holy objects;

  (e) Serious harm to infrastructure, systems or essential services, or their severe disruption, or serious harm to the State's economy or the environment.S. 2(a), 2018 Anti-Terrorism Law.

It is immaterial whether a motive or objective enumerated in paragraphs (1) and (2) was the sole or principal motive or objective for the act or the threat.

For the purpose of the definition, if an act or threat stipulated in paragraph (3)(a) was carried out using a weapon or knife, it is deemed a terrorist act even if the requirements in paragraph (2) are not met. If the act or threat was carried out using a biological, chemical, or radioactive weapon, a harmful substance or a sensitive facility, or while harming a sensitive facility, where [these weapons or facilities], due to their quality or type, were liable to cause serious harm to a large area or a large public, it is deemed a terrorist act even if paragraphs (2) or (3) are not met. If the act or threat was carried out by a terrorist organization or by a member of a terrorist organization, paragraphs (1) and (2) will be presumed to have been met; if the accused raises a reasonable doubt in this respect, the doubt shall weigh in his favour. 

Membership of a terrorist group

The 2016 Act also defines and proscribes the membership of a terrorist group in detail.

"A Member of a Terrorist Organization" includes the following:

(1) Anyone who takes an active part in the activity of a terrorist organization or operates as a representative or agent on behalf of a terrorist organization;

(2) Anyone who expressed consent to join a terrorist organization to a person whom he had reasonable grounds to believe belongs to a terrorist organization or is a representative or agent on its behalf.S. 2(a), 2018 Anti-Terrorism Law.

For the purpose of the definition, anyone who presented himself to another as a member of a terrorist organization will be presumed to belong to a terrorist organization. If the accused raises a reasonable doubt with respect to his membership in a terrorist organization, the doubt shall be interpreted in his favour. Anyone who has been a member of a terrorist organization shall be deemed a member of that organization unless he proves he has ceased to be a member. However, if he did not take an active part in the activity of a terrorist organization and did not act as a representative or agent on behalf of a terrorist organization, and he raised a reasonable doubt with respect to his membership in the terrorist organization, the doubt shall weigh in his favour. A person shall not be considered a member of a terrorist organization if he proves he was not aware of the fact that the organization is a terrorist organization ("aware" includes where he had a suspicion and failed to investigate it).

Designation of a terrorist group

In May 2022, a number of UN Special Rapporteurs wrote to the government to call for amendment of the 2018 law. They stated:

We are concerned that the present legal and regulatory framework for designating terrorist organizations lacks precision in key respects, infringes on critically important rights, and may not meet the required thresholds of legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination under international law. We are particularly concerned that the law may result in the unlawful infringement of, among others, the fundamental rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and freedom of opinion and expression, as well as fair trial rights and core social, economic, and cultural rights, including the rights to property, work, and participation in cultural life. 

Adherence to Global and Regional Terrorism Treaties

Israel is a State Party to several of the main United Nations treaties on terrorism.

There is no regional treaty on terrorism to which Israel can adhere.

Laws and Penalties for Terrorist Offences

Israel's 2016 Counterterrorism Law stipulates a range of penalties for terrorist offences. 

Prison terms for between five and twenty-five years are prescribed for staff and members of designated organizations, and closure of the relevant organizations. The Law also criminalizes the provision of support, which include financial aid as well as publishing words of "praise, support or sympathy", with between three and five years in prison.

In October 2021, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that: "Israel's decision to designate six Palestinian civil society organizations as 'terrorist organizations' is an attack on human rights defenders, on freedoms of association, opinion and expression and on the right to public participation, and should be immediately revoked."

Counterterrorism Capacities and Policies at Domestic Level

Israel has very considerable counterterrorism capacity and operational experience.