The appeal concerns a video on Mako in which an individual claims that 99% of the people living in Gaza are terrorists and that “everyone there are murderers.”
According to Amnesty Israel, the video can be interpreted as incitement to racism, violence, and even genocide. The letter argues that the publication also contradicts Israel’s international obligations as outlined in the Genocide Convention and as required by the ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Molly Malekar, Executive Director of Amnesty International Israel: “This is an expression of dehumanization of an entire population and it reinforces the perception that all Palestinians/Gazans are terrorists, thereby justifying severe actions against them in the current public climate.”
Amnesty International Israel has addressed a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, calling for a criminal investigation against the management of the news site Mako over a publication that could be interpreted as incitement to racism, violence, and even genocide. The human rights organization claims that the content also violates Israel’s international obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as well as the ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The letter refers to a video uploaded to the Mako website as part of a special project titled “The World Must Know,” which aggregates Israeli propaganda (Hasbara) videos. The website encourages users to share the videos on social media as part of Israel’s public diplomacy efforts. One of the videos, titled “Born and Raised in Gaza – This is His Opinion About the Reality There,” features an individual who explicitly claims that 99% of the people living in Gaza are terrorists and, in another direct quote from the video, “everyone there are murderers.”
According to Amnesty Israel, these statements could reasonably be interpreted as direct justification for harming all residents of Gaza, as the video claims that 99% of them are terrorists and, in any case, all are murderers. The video, for instance, does not differentiate between infants, children, and adults.
Molly Malekar, Executive Director of Amnesty International Israel, stated:
“Labeling an entire population as ‘terrorists’ and ‘murderers’ is not only a distortion of reality but also a grave injustice. This constitutes the dehumanization of an entire population, thus providing justification for severe actions against them in the current public climate.”
In the letter to the Attorney General, Amnesty Israel emphasizes that even if the statements were originally made by an individual, Mako’s decision to amplify them in a positive framing—and even encourage users to actively share and promote the videos domestically and internationally—constitutes de facto support for the video’s message. This, Amnesty Israel argues, makes Mako not just a passive platform but potentially a bearer of the message, thereby making the website responsible for the incitement inherent in these statements.
Amnesty Israel further notes that Israel is a party to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which explicitly states that “direct and public incitement to commit genocide” is one of the crimes that signatory states are obligated to prevent and to punish perpetrators. This means that Israel has a clear international obligation to act against cases of incitement to genocide within its territory, to stop such incidents, and to hold those responsible accountable. Additionally, Israel has incorporated the Genocide Convention into its domestic law, translating these prohibitions into provisions of Israeli criminal law concerning the prevention and punishment of genocide.
Amnesty Israel also highlights that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague explicitly instructed Israel in January to take all measures within its power to prevent and punish direct and public incitement to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The letter further argues that the video violates Section 144 of Israel’s Penal Code, which defines racism as “persecution, humiliation, contempt, display of hostility, violence, or discord against a public group,” and clarifies that publications amounting to incitement to racism are prohibited and can lead to criminal prosecution. The letter states:
“It is clear to the reasonable reader that categorizing all Palestinian residents of Gaza as murderers meets these definitions under the law, especially in the context of inciting hostility against an entire population amid a wartime climate.”
Finally, Amnesty Israel acknowledges the importance of freedom of expression in the country and agrees that criminal measures against media outlets should be reserved for the most extreme cases. However, it stresses that the law explicitly defines certain expressions as incitement, making them illegal and, in some cases, criminal offenses. The letter concludes by asserting that, on the surface, this case meets the legal criteria for prohibited publication and therefore warrants a criminal investigation against those responsible at Mako.