Hind Rajab Foundation files genocide incitement complaint against Israeli minister

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has lodged a criminal complaint in Italy against Israel's Minister of Environmental Protection, Idit Silman, alleging she incited genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The complaint was filed following Silman's arrival in Italy on September 6, 2026, alongside her husband, Shmuel Silman. The HRF stated that its complaint was prompted by a series of Silman's public statements over approximately two years, manifesting a sustained and escalating campaign of incitement.

Notably, Silman made such claims at a rally in Jerusalem on February 27, 2025, where she declared, "the only solution for Gaza was to empty Gaza of Gazans." She reiterated this statement almost verbatim on Israel's Reshet Bet radio on March 11, 2025, describing the proposal as "realistic." The complaint documents Silman's further calls for the cessation of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and her denial of the existence of Palestinians as a people.

Dyab Abou Jahjah, the HRF's director general, emphasized that genocide does not commence with killing, but rather with a people being declared without a right to exist, their presence perceived as the problem, and their removal as the solution. Natacha Bracq, HRF's head of litigation, added that the question before Italian authorities is whether a government official who publicly advocates for the elimination of a protected group can be held criminally accountable, suggesting that the matter demands investigation rather than impunity.