Hind Rajab Foundation files genocide incitement complaint against Israeli minister

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed a criminal complaint in Italy against Israel's minister of environmental protection, Idit Silman, accusing her of incitement to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. In a statement, HRF said the complaint was lodged after Silman arrived in Italy on 6 September 2026 with her husband, Shmuel Silman, and documents a "sustained and escalating campaign" of public statements made over roughly two years. At a rally in Jerusalem on 27 February 2025, Silman said "the only solution for Gaza was to empty Gaza of Gazans”. She repeated the line almost verbatim on Israel's Reshet Bet radio on 11 March 2025, describing the proposal as "realistic". HRF said these were not statements aimed at Hamas fighters but at Gazans as a civilian population. The complaint also documents Silman's call for cutting off humanitarian assistance to Gaza as well as her statements in which denied the existence of Palestinians as a people. Dyab Abou Jahjah, HRF's director general, said: "Genocide does not begin with killing. It begins when a people is declared to have no right to exist, when its presence is portrayed as the problem, and when its removal is presented as the solution." Natacha Bracq, head of litigation at HRF, added: “The question before the Italian authorities is not whether these words are shocking. It is whether a government official who publicly advocates the elimination of a protected group can be held criminally accountable. That question demands an investigation, not impunity. 🚨🇮🇹 The #HindRajabFoundation has filed a criminal complaint in Italy against Idit Silman, Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection, for direct and public incitement to commit genocide against the Palestinian population of Gaza. Silman arrived in Italy on 6 September with… pic.twitter.com/Lt8hM5oFLH — The Hind Rajab Foundation (@HindRFoundation) September 10, 2026