Arab Israeli indicted for social media posts supporting terror

Prosecutors on Sunday accused an Arab Israeli man of supporting terrorism and incitement in social media posts he made praising terror groups and attacks against Israelis.

According to an indictment filed with the Haifa District Court, Muhammad Khalaf published a number of posts on Facebook and Instagram praising the Hamas terror organization and two affiliated groups, and expressed support for terror attacks against Israelis.

Among the offending material cited were a number of posts lauding Hamas leaders, as well as photos from an event organized by the terror group’s student wing at An-Najah National University in the West Bank city of Nablus, where Khalaf studied.

Also mentioned were a series of posts written by Khalaf praising a terror attack at the Old City of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount in July, in which three Arab Israelis shot dead two policemen using guns smuggled into the holy site.

The indictment said that based on the content of his posts, there was a “real possibility” Khalaf himself would carry out a terror attack.

Khalaf, a resident of the northern city of Tamra, was charged with supporting a terror group, supporting an outlawed organization, inciting terror and identifying with a terror group.

Prosecutors requested that Khalaf, who was arrested on September 15, be held for the duration of the trial, citing the “great danger” posed by his social media posts and the positive responses from his followers.