Israel

Israel does not have an HIV-specific law but its Penal Code includes a provision making it illegal for a person to perform “any act that is liable to spread a disease”. The offence carries a penalty of three years’ imprisonment if the act is performed negligently, with the penalty increased to seven years in cases where a person maliciously performed the act. Factors such as consent and risk reduction practices are not specifically addressed in the law.

In 2017, the first known HIV criminalisation case involved an HIV-positive man arrested on suspicion of transmitting HIV. The man, from Guinea, was accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend, of suspected of residing in Israel illegally, and of forging permits for other migrants to work illegally. The Jerusalem Post reported that the man was charged with undertaking acts likely to spread disease, and also with impersonation, forgery and illegal residence (with charges for sexual assault not mentioned). The results of the prosecution are not known.