The Palestinian Detainees and Ex-detainees Committee, on Wednesday, reported that Israeli forces have arrested some 130 Palestinians for their activities on social media throughout the year 2015.The report by the committee said that 27 of those detained were accused of “incitement,” while others were held in administrative detention for different periods of time. The majority of the arrests were reportedly carried out in Jerusalem.
The report added, according to the PNN, that Israel has recently formed a cyber unit for the prosecution of Palestinian social media activists.
Head of the committee, Amjad Abu Assab said that the first group of Palestinian social media activists was arrested in occupied Jerusalem, on Dec. 15, 2014, after being charged with incitement over Facebook posts. The activists were sentenced on Wednesday for 17 months imprisonment, the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reoports.
PIC added that, over the past year, 40 Jerusalemites were detained for Facebook posts for different periods of time, while house arrest was imposed on several others after preventing them from using smartphones and Facebook accounts.
With the start of the uprising in October, Israelis have created over 2,000 fake Facebook accounts to monitor Palestinian protesters and collect names for detention.
See also: 2015: A Dangerous Escalation at Al-Aqsa Mosque
