News / Palestine

Israeli military indicts 145 Palestinians for social media posts

Sunday, 25 September 2016 2:28 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 26 September 2016 5:25 AM ]

Israeli soldiers try to arrest a Palestinian man in the city of Hebron (al-Khalil), in the occupied West Bank, on September 20, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The Israeli military has indicted at least 145 Palestinians so far this year after accusing them of inciting anti-Israeli sentiments over social media.

The Israeli military said on Sunday the indictments were made for posts on social media websites such as Facebook, which is a popular network among Palestinians.

Israel has launched a violent campaign to stamp out the online calls for resistance by Palestinian activists and groups.

Tel Aviv threatens those Palestinians who do not appear for interrogation with arresting their family members instead.

Palestinian rights groups Addameer and Adalah said in July that the Israeli regime had arrested about 400 Palestinians since October 2015 for social media posts that highlight the atrocities and crimes committed by the regime and illegal settlers.

This comes as Israeli lawmakers have already proposed legislation that seeks to force social networks to remove content Israel considers to be incitement.

In early September, a pair of Israeli ministers met with Facebook executives to discuss ways of limiting anti-Israel activities on the social networking website. Israel has also raised a host of issues over whether the company is responsible for material posted by its users.

Senior officials in Tel Aviv claim social media play a key role in fueling a yearlong campaign of intensified Palestinian resistance against the Israeli regime.

Israeli soldiers surround the body of a Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli troops at the entrance to the West Bank town of Silwad on August 26, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

However, Palestinians say the ongoing resistance across the occupied Palestinian territories is a result of nearly 50 years of Israeli military occupation.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed increased tensions ever since Israeli forces imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

Nearly 250 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of last October.

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