Amid the ongoing investigation, Rosenfeld said he could not disclose the suspects’ identities, ages, or neighborhoods.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUDFacebook(photo credit: FACEBOOK)
Following a protracted undercover Internet investigation, police on Monday morning arrested six Arab suspects from east Jerusalem accused of inciting violence against Jews using various social media platforms.According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, the unidentified suspects were tracked online for several weeks after intelligence revealed that they were using Facebook and Instagram to encourage terrorist attacks.“The arrests were made during the early hours of the morning in their homes after a wide-scale, pinpointed operation in order to find and arrest the suspects who were involved in incitement to terrorism, and support for terrorist organizations,” said Rosenfeld. “The messages and photos they put out received hundreds of likes, comments, and positive feedback.”Undercover policemen, he said, closely observed their activities as part of ongoing police investigations into Internet incitement. To date, police have arrested over two dozen suspects for web incitement, since the so-called “stabbing intifada” gripped the capital late last year.“After police received an approved court order from a Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge to carry out a house-to-house search, officers seized all of the suspects’ computers, and other relevant materials during the raid,” Rosenfeld added.Amid the ongoing investigation, Rosenfeld said he could not disclose the suspects’ identities, ages, or neighborhoods.“They are still being questioned, and police will continue to find potential terrorists who are taking advantage of the platforms of social media to call upon individuals to carry out attacks, or are supporting terrorism,” he said.