Israel arrests Palestinian officer who said ‘we need Hitler’

The Palestinian security officer was arrested after lauding Hitler on Facebook. 

Israeli security forces in August arrested Jalal Muhammad al-Sawiti, a member of the Palestinian security forces, for posting anti-Semitic and terror supporting messages on social media.

Al-Sawiti, who holds a senior position in the Office of the Head of Palestinian Preventive Security in Jenin, recently posted Facebook messages which called for terrorist attacks against Jews and praised attacks already committed.

Furthermore, he posted photos of Nazi leaders Adolf Hitler and Adolf Eichmann and expressed longing for such individuals.

In one of the posts, he uploaded a photo of Hitler with the caption “we need Hitler.”

He was charged on Monday in a military court with incitement to terrorism and expressing support for a hostile organization.

The Shin Bet (Israel’s security agency), which participated in the counter-terrorism operation, vowed to continue monitoring and thwarting online Palestinian terrorism support.

“It should be emphasized that online incitement, especially on social media, inflames passions and is liable to lead to acts of terrorism,” the Shin Bet stated.

Israel has recognized the threat emanating from incitement to terrorism spread on Facebook and has successfully acted against those who use social media as a weapon, helping to reduce a trend of attacks against Israelis.

Israel’s Haaretz reported in April that Israeli forces have detained at least 400 Palestinians in less than a year over incitement on social media.

Speaking in July 2016, Israel’s Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan slammed Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg for what he said was their partial responsibility for the wave of Palestinian terror attacks, which is fanned by incitement posted on Facebook and other social media outlets.

Erdan said that “part of the blood of the murdered is on Facebook’s hands,” and demanded that the social media network take action to combat the phenomenon.

“Facebook has become a monster,” the Israeli minister charged. “The discourse of the younger [Palestinian] generation on the web, all the incitement and lies, it all occurs on this platform. I am in support of Mr. Zuckerberg conducting self-monitoring.”

By: World Israel News Staff

FacebookIncitementPalestinian terrorShin BetSocial media