Israel charges 8 Palestinians over inciting ‘terror’

The Israeli regime has indicted eight Palestinians from East al-Quds (Jerusalem) for allegedly inciting “anti-Jewish terror” through online social media postings.

The regime’s justice ministry spokeswoman announced the indictments for the eight men, aged 18 to 45, on Monday, adding that the Palestinians were charged at a Magistrate’s Court in East al-Quds with “incitement to violence or terror and supporting a terrorist group” on Facebook.

The alleged online messages were posted in recent months, according to Israeli authorities, as the number of violent attacks against Israeli residents of occupied East al-Quds surged in the city, leaving nine Israelis dead.

Such attacks were reportedly in response to persisting raids by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on a number of Palestinian neighborhoods leading to death, injury and, arrest of numerous local residents and protesters.

The Israeli officials further claimed that the Palestinian defendants “directly called for violence and terror against (Jewish) citizens and security forces and praised, encouraged, and supported these deeds and their perpetrators” on the Internet.

All eight were reportedly detained earlier this month in what the Israeli regime described as their biggest operation yet, allegedly aimed at averting incitement of violence on social media networks.