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Thursday 13 May 2021 - 07:04

Israeli Regime Intelligence Sends Threatening Text to Palestinians

Story Code : 932365
Israeli Regime Intelligence Sends Threatening Text to Palestinians
An Israeli plan for the forced expulsion of dozens of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of al-Quds has been the trigger for the protests. And the situation has been tense due to the hostile treatment of Palestinians by the Zionist forces and the illegal Zionist settlers.

Israeli forces have attacked Palestinian worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque three times in the past four days.

Reports said that many in al-Quds had reported receiving a threatening text over the past 24 hours.

“Hello! You have been identified to have taken part in violent acts at al-Aqsa Mosque. We will hold you accountable. - Israeli intelligence,” the message reads.

The text message is viewed by many activists as an attempt to deter Palestinians from going to the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Rama Yousef Salah, a journalist who has been covering events in Sheikh Jarrah and al-Aqsa Mosque over the past week, said she received the message on Monday evening.

“I laughed about it and sent it to my friends, and then I realized they had it too,” she said, adding, “Then I shared it to social media, and people said that it was sent to everyone near al-Aqsa... even people who were at home.”

Ezzat Natsheh, a 35-year-old actor from al-Quds, was also sent the message on Tuesday morning.

“I was not afraid of the message. I took it as a joke,” he said. “Because, really? You want to punish me because I was in al-Aqsa or Sheikh Jarrah? If you want me, you can send me legal papers.”

Many Palestinians believe the number of people who received the message and their proximity to al-Aqsa suggest some form of involvement of Israeli authorities.

“It is most likely that the Israeli intelligence uses a GPS system, in order to be able to know who was in the al-Aqsa Mosque at this time,” said Mona Shtaya, local advocacy manager at 7amleh, a Palestinian digital rights organization.

She noted that the technology had been in place since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic under the “pretext of public health,” but was now being used by Israeli authorities to “track people’s locations and threaten them.”
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