In 2009 Adalah participated in a conference in Madrid organized by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). Participants planned and coordinated strategies of pursuing legal actions against Israeli officials in foreign courts. Following the conference, Adalah Director General Hassan Jabareen submitted an expert legal opinion to the Spanish National Court in support of a case to try seven senior Israeli officials as "war criminals" because of their alleged involvement in the assassination of senior Hamas terrorist, Salah Shehadeh. In June 2009 the Spanish National Court dismissed the case on the grounds that Israel was already investigating the incident, and, therefore, there was no justification for the Spanish court to do so. In April 2010, the Spanish Supreme Court upheld this decision and closed the case permanently, remarking that the Israeli investigation over the operations was "substantive and genuine."

In December 2009 Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP) organized a petition to the British government, signed by 99 "feminist peace organizations." The petition criticized proposed changes to the UK's universal jurisdiction law, which would have prevented NGOs from obtaining arrest warrants against foreign officials without the knowledge of the British government. NGOs have exploited the UK law to have arrest warrants issued for Israeli government officials visiting the country.

CWP's petition claims that "the international community is obligated to act in order to ensure that Israel will comply with international human rights and humanitarian law. Issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials responsible for war crimes against the Palestinian people, among them Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni, is an important means to this end. The right of national courts to prosecute foreign war criminals for atrocities committed abroad is a central enforcement mechanism in international law."

PCATI signed a petition submitted to the Spanish government opposing the "resolution that limits the exercise of universal jurisdiction of the Spanish courts." The resolution was introduced in the Spanish parliament following lawfare cases against Chinese, Israeli, and American officials.

CEO Dr. Ishai Menuchin wrote in Maariv, "if war crimes suspicions are not investigated in Israel, it is appropriate that they be investigated and that justice be served with their perpetrators in different courts...any defender of human rights, anyone who believes in democratic values, and anyone who holds positions based on the centrality of the rule of law, should hold a similar position" (translation from the Hebrew).

Israel does investigate allegations of war crimes, but Menuchin delegitmizes the investigations because he disagrees with their conclusions. Additionally, he ignores the highly politicized nature of the lawfare cases against Israeli officials. These cases are not pursued based on evidence or guilt or justice; they are the opposite of human rights, democratic values, and the rule of law.

On November 2-3, 2009, representatives of PCATI and Adalah joined the NGO leaders of the anti-Israel lawfare campaign (PCHR, Al Haq, FIDH) in a series of meetings with officials at the International Criminal Court to "explor[e] different avenues to bring justice to the victims of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law" relating to the Gaza War.