East Jerusalem wedding singer who hailed Hamas military chief indicted for inciting terror

Prosecutors charge a wedding singer from Jerusalem with incitement to terror due to songs he has performed in public and also video clips he posted to social media that allegedly showed support for terrorism, including allegiance to the military leader of the Hamas terror group.

Prosecutors file an indictment against Mohammad Shweiki, 21, at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, accusing him of incitement to terror and identifying with a terror organization.

According to court papers, Shweiki is the manager and lead singer in a group that performs at weddings and other events where he has in the past sung inciting material in front of large crowds.

Also, on various occasions he posted to his account on video sharing network TikTok clips from his performances that included inciting material, prosecutors say.

#تمديد_اعتقال الشاب محمد شويكي ليوم الاثنين القادم #اعتقل قبل أسبوعين من مكان عمله، وهو من سكان حي الثوري ببلدة #سلوان

Extending the detention of Mohammad Shweiki until Monday.
He was arrested two weeks ago from his workplace; he is a resident of Al-Thori in Silwan pic.twitter.com/HlAfSDlZAi

— Silwanic (@Silwanic1) December 31, 2023

In one video he sang, “Take up the sword, wave the sword, we are the people of Muhammad Deif,” a reference to the leader of the Hamas terror group’s military wing.

In another incident, at a wedding in Al-Ram, northeast of Jerusalem, he sang to the crowd, “Ben Gvir, Alqam Khayri took your eye out,” a reference to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the Palestinian terrorist who shot dead seven people and injured three others carried in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of Jerusalem last February.

All the incidents happened before October 7 when Hamas launched its devastating attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people.

Prosecutors ask that he be held until the end of proceedings.