For decades, Israel has expanded its borders not only within the occupied territories but also across the world through governments submissive to the expansionist policies of the Hebrew state. Countries such as Germany, Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Canada, and the United States have adopted practices and measures that, in effect, favor Israel’s impunity and restrict protest against its policies in Gaza and the occupied territories.

Despite the globally negative perception of Israel among public opinion, its leaders have succeeded in extending their political and judicial reach far beyond their settlements, criminalizing dissent and exerting decisive influence to preserve their status quo.

In Germany, mass bans on demonstrations and police raids against pro-Palestinian activists were documented after October 7, 2023. Regional authorities imposed restrictions on rallies, while detentions and searches were denounced by human rights organizations as part of an escalating criminalization of solidarity with Palestine.

In Greece, close cooperation with Israel—including the use of ports and bases linked to transit and logistical support—has turned the country into a strategic partner that, despite domestic protests, has facilitated operations favorable to Israel’s foreign policy. In 2011, the Greek government completely halted the Freedom Flotilla, composed of twelve vessels, following a direct demand from Israeli authorities.

In Spain, beyond local initiatives aimed at restricting boycotts of Israel—such as administrative and judicial actions against the BDS movement—various international agreements have curtailed opportunities for protest or collaboration with boycott campaigns. Spain, once a global reference for Universal Jurisdiction, drastically limited that principle after the 2010 attack on the Flotilla, yielding to Israeli diplomatic pressure and closing off legal avenues for prosecuting war crimes abroad.

In the United Kingdom, recent legislative reforms to curb protest “disruption” have tightened policing and public order laws, directly affecting demonstrations in support of Palestine. These laws empower authorities to dissuade, monitor, and penalize protestors—effectively criminalizing public dissent.

In Canada and the United States, governments have implemented international measures such as sanctions and designations against organizations and individuals linked to Palestinian solidarity networks. Some forms of activism have been reclassified as “security threats,” leading to financial surveillance, funding restrictions, and legal pressures on pro-Palestinian and student groups. While presented as part of counter-extremism efforts, these measures have in practice silenced and delegitimized human rights advocacy.

As for Turkey, the situation is complex and contradictory. Following the Israeli assault on the Freedom Flotilla in 2010—when ten Turkish citizens were killed by Israeli commandos—Ankara and Tel Aviv normalized relations and reinstated embassies in 2022. Despite subsequent declarations of economic sanctions and airspace closures, investigations show that fuel and other goods continued to reach Israel through indirect routes and third countries such as Azerbaijan, revealing loopholes in the proclaimed embargo. Meanwhile, the Turkish state has repressed demonstrations and arrested activists denouncing this ongoing trade, effectively criminalizing domestic mobilization that seeks to sever economic ties with Israel.

Taken together, these reforms and practices—bans on protests, administrative vetoes of boycotts, tightening of public order laws, international sanctions, and legal frameworks of cooperation—show how Israel’s borders expand extraterritorially, not through physical annexation alone but through diplomatic, legal, and policing networks designed to discipline solidarity and make protest a political or judicial risk.

Those who defend freedom of expression and international solidarity must recognize this global architecture of repression when devising strategies to protect activists. Recently, a British prisoner and member of Palestine Action who had been granted temporary leave after a year in jail for his pro-Palestinian actions refused to return to prison, declaring himself “a hostage of Israel on British soil.” It is no coincidence that, for the first time, such terminology is used outside the occupied territories—it opens a new narrative that exposes the complicity of Western governments that place their own citizens at the mercy of Israeli repression.
All our solidarity and gratitude go to our comrade from Palestine Action for taking one step further and opening the path.