Edna Arbel, a former justice of the Israeli Supreme Court, died on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. The Israeli judiciary announced her death.

Arbel was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2004 and retired on June 22, 2014, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court bench, she served as state attorney for eight years.

In 2013, Arbel authored the principal opinion in a High Court ruling that struck down a 2012 amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law. A nine-justice panel unanimously ruled that the amendment, which allowed for the lengthy detention of asylum seekers and migrants, disproportionately infringed on the right to liberty.

Arbel's career included working in the Central District Prosecution from 1972 to 1988, serving as its head during her final four years there. She served on the Tel Aviv District Court from 1988 until 1996. In January 1996, she was appointed state attorney. Additionally, Arbel served as acting attorney-general during the attorney-general's absence.

She chaired the 'Prosecution 2000' committee and a separate committee that drafted an ethical code for prosecutors. Arbel participated in international discussions concerning the International Criminal Court in Rome, The Hague, and Strasbourg. She was also part of the team that gathered material for the commission of inquiry into Sabra and Shatila and wrote the report of a committee appointed by the attorney-general following the police investigation into the Bus 300 affair.

Arbel taught criminal law and criminology at Tel Aviv University and Ono Academic College. Supreme Court President Isaac Amit joined Arbel's family in mourning. She had three daughters.