Israel Police special unit arrests Palestinian imam in Hebron

The suspect, in online posts allegedly identified with Hamas, encouraged terrorist attacks against Israel and heaped praise on Hamas’s chief propagandist, Abu Obeida.

By JNS

A Palestinian religious figure was arrested as he slept overnight Wednesday in Hebron by a special unit of the Israel Police.

The operational arm of the Judea and Samaria Police District’s Yasam Special Patrol’s “Hetz Yehuda” unit detained the cleric, who is in his 30s, following incendiary material that he posted online, among them calling for the destruction of the State of Israel, a police statement read.

The suspect, an imam, was monitored by the Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command District Intelligence, according to the police.

The Yasam forces raided his home in a locating-and-arrest operation, guided by the Ro’eh Operations Center of the Judea and Samaria District and the Intelligence Department of the Hebron Police Station.

He was later transferred for questioning, the police added.

The suspect, in posts that he published online, allegedly identified with Hamas, encouraged terrorist attacks against Israel and heaped praise on Hamas’s chief propagandist, Hudahaifa Kahlout, aka Abu Obeida, who was killed in Gaza by the IDF on Aug. 30.

The imam was arrested on suspicion of harming regional security, expressing identification with a terrorist organization, and incitement and support for a terrorist organization, the Israel Police stated.