Is it “Genocide” to Arrest a Terrorist?

Apr 30, 2026 by Susan Rosenbluth

By Dr. Rafael Medoff

Israel’s arrest of Hamas terrorist Hussam Abu Safiya is not only “a grave crime,” but is “at the core of the crime of genocide,” according to the Palestinian Authority’s Palestinian Prisoners Society.

The society’s declaration was publicized this week by the PA’s official news agency, Wafa. It illustrates again how the “genocide” charge is nothing more than an ever-expanding slur that Israel’s enemies use as a propaganda tool, without regard for facts or legal standards.

Safiya is the former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, which was a major Hamas terror base.

When Safiya was arrested by the Israeli authorities, media critics and self-described human rights groups insisted that he was an innocent pediatrician.

But a bombshell report issued by NGO Monitor earlier this year revealed devastating evidence of Safiya’s involvement in Hamas:

A 2016 photo shows “Doctor” Safiya in his Hamas uniform, attending a meeting of senior Hamas terrorist leaders, including General Abu Obaida al-Jarrah; Military Medical Services director Saeed Saoudi; and National Security Forces commander Col. Naeem al-Ghoul.
Safiya was described as “a colonel” in a 2020 Facebook post by the Gaza Medical Services. NGO Monitor’s researchers uncovered numerous Arabic-language sources that openly referred to Safiya as “Colonel Hussam Abu Safiya.”
Safiya’s own Facebook posts celebrated the October 7 atrocities and called for terror against “the Jews.” In one post, he wrote: “And they thought their fortresses would protect them from Allah, but Allah came upon them from where they did not expect, and cast terror into their hearts.”

Next to the text, he posted an image of terrorists parachuting into Israel on October 7.

The New York Times has not expressed any regret for publishing op-eds by Safiya in October 2024 and December 2024, accusing Israel of “genocide.” Neither of the op-eds disclosed Safiya’s affiliation with Hamas.

Dr. Rafael Medoff is the founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies and author of more than 20 books about Jewish history and the Holocaust.