Event Summary
The Israel Police’s new “incitement unit” raises concerns about infringements on human rights and freedom of expression, such as proactive monitoring of individuals on social media without a sufficient evidentiary basis. This emerges from a letter from Deputy Attorneys General Gil Limon and Sharon Afek to the Inspector General of Police, Commissioner Danny Levy, and to the Police Legal Adviser (March 22, 2026). In their letter to the Police Legal Adviser, Limon and Afek also raise concerns about improper interference by the National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, in the professional independence and discretion of the police.
The concern is that the new unit, tasked with handling incitement offenses – previously the responsibility of the Police Investigations and Intelligence Division – may operate not only against incitement to terrorism. It may also serve as a tool for the police, and for the National Security Minister who oversees it, to expand monitoring, oversight, and enforcement against protest activists and those critical of the government, thereby undermining freedom of expression and protest in Israel.
The Police Commissioner rejected the Attorneys General’s concerns. He stated that the unit is responsible solely for handling terrorism-related offenses and not for action against protest activists. The National Security Minister also dismissed the concerns.
The issue returned to public attention this past week after the head of the unit sent WhatsApp messages to police colleagues, asking them to forward names of potential inciters. Some people interpreted this request as an invitation – and even encouragement – to act against government critics, and not solely against those inciting terrorism.
MK Yoav Segalovitz (Yesh Atid), a former police commander who previously served as head of the Investigations Division and as Deputy Minister of Public Security, stated that the unit’s activities pose a clear and immediate danger to all Israeli citizens, particularly with regard to freedom of expression.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel stated that Minister Ben-Gvir is undermining police independence, that the politicization of investigations into speech-related offenses is especially dangerous, and raised concerns that the police may misuse restrictions on expression to detain, arrest, and investigate individuals expressing legitimate criticism of the government. This includes a tangible concern that prohibitions on incitement to terrorism could be misused to detain and imprison protest activists, government opponents, and Arab citizens.