Arrest of Arab Israeli woman over TikTok clip raises questions about police conduct

Entisar Hijaze detained overnight after Ben Gvir sends police her dance video dated October 7, 2023; State Attorney’s Office: Not clear why officers blindfolded her

Entisar Hijaze seen being arrested by police early on October 8, 2024, in Tamra, northern Israel. (Israel Police)
Entisar Hijaze seen being arrested by police early on October 8, 2024, in Tamra, northern Israel. (Israel Police)

An Arab Israeli woman was arrested by the police overnight Monday on suspicion of “conduct disturbing the public order,” based on a dance video she posted on social media, a move that was called into question by some observers who saw no incitement or political content in the clip.

The woman, identified as Entisar Hijaze, was arrested after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees the police force, forwarded her social media post to a police department dedicated to combating online incitement.

The police said they had raided her home in Tamra in northern Israel overnight and released a photograph of her blindfolded in the back of a police vehicle, adding that the force would “continue to act, locate, and deal with inciters to violence and acts of terrorism.”

In the post in question, Hijaze — who reportedly works introducing children in classrooms to animals — is seen dancing to the song “Betty Boop” by Charlie Puth in a school in Nazareth. The clip includes the lyrics “good time,” and the words “On This Day – 7/10/23” appear at the bottom of the video.

But reporters and online observers noted that the musical clip is a popular one among TikTok dance trends, and that many posts on the social media platform use the “On this day” label as part of their videos.

The Fake Reporter investigative organization found that Hijaze’s social media accounts had no history of political or nationalistic activism, and that she had previously posted videos expressing sorrow over the war and the death of Israelis.

Adam Shinar, a law professor at Reichman University, noted on X that Hijaze had used the “On this day” feature several other times, and that she had expressed sadness online at the murder of Yonat Or from Kibbutz Be’eri.

Most of her TikTok feed is videos of her introducing animals to classrooms of children, as well as similar dance videos and TikTok trends and filters.

Hijaze’s detention was extended on Tuesday for three days by the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court.

Writing on X after police issued their statement about her arrest, the far-right Ben Gvir said that he had “zero tolerance for incitement and terrorism supporters.”

The police, however, did not arrest her on suspicion of incitement to terrorism, incitement to violence, or related crimes, but rather on suspicion of “conduct disturbing public order.”

The State Attorney’s Office said in response to the incident that given “the circumstances of the incident as they have been published, it is not clear why the police decided to handcuff the suspect and blindfold her.” It also noted that the police did not make any request to investigate Hijaze for incitement.

State Attorney Amit Aisman recently accused the police of circumventing their obligation to obtain permission from his office for investigations into incitement by arresting people on this lesser charge.

In response to the criticism, Ben Gvir praised the police for the arrest and said it was “crazy that there are officials in the State Attorney’s office who haven’t internalized the fact that Israel has the rule of law.”

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