"From The River to the Sea is a call for genocide."

Supporters argue that “From the river to the sea” is a call for genocide, insisting it demands the elimination of the State of Israel and expulsion or destruction of its Jewish population. They cite usage by Hamas in its 2017 charter and condemnations from Western legislators who view it as a direct threat to Jewish existence.

In historical and contemporary contexts the slogan has multiple meanings. Some Palestinian activists and intellectuals frame it as a demand for a secular democratic state with equal rights for all inhabitants, not genocide. The Palestine Liberation Organization used it in the 1960s to express a call for liberation, not explicit extermination.

Legal and scholarly analyses emphasize that intent matters. Under international incitement tests, like Rabat and the ICJ, speech is only genocidal if it includes direct intent to annihilate a protected group. Many uses of the slogan lack explicit references to violence and are instead grounded in political aspiration.