Nearly 100 probes launched into Israelis suspected of praising Hamas killings
From kindergarten assistant to lawyer and mosque preacher, citizens allegedly shared joyous posts on social media
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Since October 7, the State Attorney’s Office has authorized police probes in nearly 100 incidents of reported public support and praise for Hamas’s terrorist attacks, the body said Monday.
The investigations include a kindergarten assistant from central Israel who wrote on social media “There is nothing more beautiful than waking up to the news of victory for the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip, God, give victory to your servants in Gaza.”
War erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw at least 1,500 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, air and sea, killing over 1,300 people and seizing some 200 hostages of all ages under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.
In another incident that is being investigated, a preacher in a mosque in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat said, “Look toward your families in Gaza City from where the lions came in their masses for your victory in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The lions who came to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque, I call on all the sons of this camp, rise up and go out.”
Instances of Israeli students who posted expressions of praise and support for Hamas are also being examined.
The State Attorney’s Office said that there should be “zero tolerance” for those expressing support for Israel’s enemies and for terror acts against Israeli citizens, as well as support for harming IDF soldiers.
Since the country is currently at war and in a state of emergency, State Attorney Amit Aisman and one of his deputies have permitted the police to open investigations into clear instances of support for terror groups and acts of terrorism without approval by the State Attorney’s Office.
“The State Attorney’s Office will act determinedly against every expression of support for acts of terrorism or incitement to acts of terrorism and violence,” said Aisman’s office.
On Sunday, Israel Bar Association chief Amit Becher said he would seek to disbar an attorney who had praised the Hamas attack on social media.
“This lawyer has no place among us, and I do not intend to let this slide,” he said.
The lawyer wrote, as the October 7 events unfolded, that she felt “like I am in a dream,” followed, by joyful emojis. She later claimed that reports on Hamas’s murderous crimes in southern communities were lies.
The Times of Israel Community.