Israeli Arab indicted for supporting IS on Facebook

An Israeli citizen from the Arab-Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm was indicted Thursday for posting comments in support of the Islamic State group on his Facebook page, security services announced.

Muhammad Abu Ra’ad, 22, who listed his occupation online as “killer of infidels and enemies of Allah,” was arrested by police after an investigation into his social media page revealed comments praising IS and inciting further violence.

Ra’ad’s indictment, filed by the Shin Bet security service at the Haifa Magistrate’s Court, alleged that he had published a number of comments in praise, solidarity, sympathy and support for the terror group and disseminated propaganda on its behalf.

In September 2014, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon declared the Islamic State an “illegal organization,” effectively criminalizing any gatherings, support, recruitment, and fundraising on behalf of the group.

With over 300 online friends, Ra’ad, a self-described “hired killer,” boasted that he had worked as a “terrorist” in the past, but now focuses on “jihad for the sake of Allah.”

Underneath one image uploaded by him, a man could be seen holding the IS banner, while the caption read, “With thanks to Allah, a day will come when I burn the Palestinian flag and raise in its place the flag of Islam.”

According to the Shin Bet, Ra’ad confessed and confirmed the allegations during interrogation.

“Israel’s security services will continue doing everything possible to eradicate support for the Islamic State, given the risk that it poses to the country’s security,” the Shin Bet said in a statement Thursday.

Convictions for online incitement are not without recent precedent in Israel.

Last week, an Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem to eight months in prison for “inciting to violence or terror” on his Facebook page. The suspect had praised deadly attacks against Jews and called on his online followers to carry out further acts of violence.

A week earlier, a similar ruling saw another Palestinian man jailed for nine months for using his personal Facebook account to incite violence and support terrorism against civilians.

A number of Israeli citizens have been incarcerated after traveling to Syria to join jihadist groups such as the Islamic State, including one as recently as March.

Security authorities say they know of about 30 Israeli Arabs who have made their way to Syria to fight for jihadist groups against Assad’s regime, but that only a few joined IS.