Oct. 29 (UPI) — An actress from Nazareth was arrested on terrorism charges for posts she made on social media as Israeli Police crack down on people expressing support for Hamas, which Israel considers to be a terrorist organization.
Maisa Abd Elhadi had allegedly posted on social media a picture of a bulldozer and a fence with the text “Let’s go Berlin style” overlayed, an apparent reference to the tearing down of the Berlin wall. Israel has similar security fences between its borders with the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring countries.
“Congratulations to the police of the Northern District for a diligent investigation that led to the filing of charges this morning against Maisa Abd Elhadi, the actress and online influencer of Nazareth, who expressed support for terrorism on social media, despite her release last week by Judge Arafat Taha,” the far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a statement.
Ben-Gvir, the national security minister who lives in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank, has previously come under for for his own comments on social media, including the sharing of a picture of heavy machinery to demolish Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem and the defense of raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“This is a clear message to all those network instigators and supporters of terrorism — the Israel Police will not let you go until you come to account. Don’t try us!” he said on Twitter.
Israeli Police said in a statement that the charges would be filed after an investigation led by police found she “praised and incited a terrorist organization.” Police did not specify whether that alleged terrorist organization is Hamas.
“The Israel Police will continue to work to locate and deal with instigators of violence and acts of terrorism, and those who identify with terrorism on social media and anywhere else,” police said.
Last week, Israeli Police said in a statement that, under the guidance of Ben-Gvir and Police Chief Superintendent Yaakov Shabtai, police have opened 126 investigations after a number of people were “suspected of inciting and supporting a terrorist organization.”
“The police arrested 110 suspects and so far 17 indictments have been submitted in an expedited procedure and additional indictments are expected to be submitted to the courts in the coming days,” police said in that statement.
Ben-Gvir established a dedicated police taskforce “to deal with online incitement” made up of police officers and Shin Bet officials.
“The team … has been operating since the beginning of the war in an increased format in order to deal with all issues concerning suspects who encourage violence and express identification and support with the terrorist organization Hamas,” police said in the statement.
Police gave other examples of such arrests including the arrest of a 22-year-old from Taiba who allegedly “praised and praised the terrorist organization Hezbollah on social media” and “praised the terrorists who murdered four Jews in the Bali attack and the terrorists in Jenin.”
At least two other people were arrested for allegedly praising Hamas by publishing posts and videos of people kidnapped on October 7. One person was arrested for comparing Israeli officials to Nazis.
