Israel’s Supreme Court has banned antiwar protests, after residents of Arab-majority towns in northern Israel applied for permits to call publicly for a ceasefire. Israel’s High Court of Justice sided with police who said protests would divert critical resources.
On Wednesday, Israel’s Knesset amended its counterterrorism law, introducing a new criminal offense: the “consumption of terrorist materials.” Violators face up to one year’s imprisonment. Human rights groups have compared the amendment to “thought policing” and warn that even passively downloading material produced by Hamas could land people in prison.