Police slammed for arrest of Arab woman, ordered by Ben Gvir, said to be based on mistaken interpretation of TikTok post

An Arab Israeli woman was arrested this morning on suspicion of “conduct likely to disturb public order,” after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has authority over the police, sent a social media post in which she allegedly celebrated Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack to the police department dedicated to combating online incitement.

However, many observers have since noted that the arrest was likely based on a misinterpretation of the post, and the State Attorney’s Office has criticized the arrest.

The woman’s detention has been extended for three days by the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court.

In the post in question, the woman, named in media reports as Entisar Hijaze, who the police say is an educator and who reportedly teaches children about animals, is seen dancing to the song “Betty Boop” in a school in Nazareth where she works, with the lyrics “good times” added in to the song, and with the words “On This Day — 7/10/23” appearing at the bottom of the video, indicating it was published on the day of the Hamas onslaught.

שרשור סיפורו של חרטא: 2 שרים כבר רקדו על הריקוד של אינתיסאר חיג'אזי מטמרה מדריכה בקרן קרב, גם המשטרה. הכי עצוב זה שלל כלי התקשורת שפרסמו ואיש לא טרח להקדיש 5 דקות לבדיקה בסיסית. זה הסרטון שלה ולטענת המשטרה פורסם אתמול עם כיתוב בעברית כדי להסית לטרור ולהתסיס דווקא ביום הנורא הזה pic.twitter.com/WIAa1B9ANg

— יוסי מזרחי Yossi Mizrachi (@yosimiz1) October 8, 2024

The police say they raided her home in the northern town of Tamra overnight, and publish a photograph of her blindfolded in a police vehicle, saying the force will “continue to act, locate, and deal with inciters to violence and acts of terrorism.”

4. המעצר של מדריכת החיות, לפי בן גביר בהוראה שלו, בוצע כשעיניה מכוסות בפלנלית, בדיוק כמו מעצרי מחבלים בשטחים, למרות שהפרקליטות אסרה זאת בתחילת השנה אבל המשטרה מצפצפת.
5. מעצר בעבירת חופש ביטוי מחייב אישור פרקליטות אבל למי אכפת?
5. ברגישות היא תקבל כנראה ציון נכשל אבל הסתה?? pic.twitter.com/vYiFYidq6g

— יוסי מזרחי Yossi Mizrachi (@yosimiz1) October 8, 2024

Ben Gvir subsequently writes on X: “Zero tolerance for incitement and terrorism supporters.”

According to court documents from the woman’s arraignment, her lawyer argues that the video was uploaded in the early hours of October 7, 2023, before she had heard about the “horrific events in the south,” and that she had not intended to disturb the public order or incite to terrorism.

Further doubts are raised by social media users and journalists, with the Fake Reporter investigative organization finding that the woman’s social media accounts have no history of political or nationalistic activism, and that she had later posted about her sadness regarding a specific victim of the October 7 massacre.

It is also noted that the video she posted appears to be part of a dance trend that was popular at the time on the TikTok social media platform, and that the date is mentioned because the video was reposted yesterday — exactly a year after it was first published — using the “On this day” feature.

The police 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.” 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.

The State Attorney’s Office says 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.”