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Northern Israel imam arrested for allegedly supporting Hamas
Israel Police officers in Zichron Ya’acov apprehended a 60-year-old imam from Fureidis on Friday on charges of inciting terrorism and supporting Hamas. A search of his residence led to the seizure of Hamas flags as well as a map of “Palestine.”
The imam is a close relative of the local council’s head and is affiliated with the Southern Branch of the Islamic movement, which shares ties with the Ra’am Party and its chairman, Mansour Abbas.
The arrest of the imam has sent shockwaves throughout the town. The arrest came in the wake of a Friday sermon he delivered at a local mosque. Prior to the arrest, the Zichron Ya’acov local council attempted to ease concerns among residents after reports circulated on WhatsApp groups suggesting incitement occurred during the mosque gathering.
However, the council later distanced itself from taking responsibility for the reassuring messages, claiming they merely echoed a statement conveyed by the commander of the Zichron Ya’acov police station and another senior official. These statements indicated that the police, along with other agencies, have monitored all of the imam’s sermons since the war with Hamas in Gaza began and have not found any evidence of incitement or sedition. Nevertheless, the police arrested the imam anyway.The imam’s lawyer told Walla!: “He did not incite or express support. He simply conveyed factual information as presented in the news. He does not endorse Hamas and condemns the events of October 7. I am confident that the truth will prevail, and he will be released soon.”
An Israeli Arab barista arrested for social media posts, freed in deal with Hamas
Furthermore, it was revealed yesterday that Rana Sawilat, a 27-year-old from Abu Snan in the Western Galilee, was among those released in the seventh round of the prisoner exchange for the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza on Wednesday. However, she was later arrested again and now faces charges of inciting terrorism and expressing solidarity with Hamas.
Sawilat was previously employed at an Aroma branch in Nahariya until the branch manager became aware of an Instagram post she published on October 7. She was fired after a termination hearing.
She was recently arrested by Nahariya police officers and subsequently interrogated by a police fraud unit before being held in prison with Palestinian security prisoners.
Despite the alleged danger posed by Sawilat, as claimed by the state, she was unexpectedly released in the evening as part of the prisoner exchange deal for hostages in Gaza – which was a surprise even to her. According to her attorney, neither she nor her family were consulted prior to this arrangement.
According to the indictment, the post in question contained the sentence, “This day and this date will be remembered as the most glorious ever to happen to Palestine and the entire nation,” accompanied by the text, “Today we will invade them, and they will not invade us,” along with a hand symbolizing the “V” movement for victory and a flame emoji. The indictment was filed with the approval of Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Sawilat has since deleted the post and expressed her apology. While she did not deny making the post, she claimed it was not intended as incitement but rather as a prayer for the residents of Gaza. In court, her lawyer said, “Who takes one post she published seriously? This is a case that does not warrant an arrest.”
Israel’s political echelon, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the IDF to prepare for an “immediate” return to fighting in Gaza, KAN News reported on Friday evening.
The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this week that Israeli officials estimated that if no agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas, Israel would return to fighting in Gaza in about a week and a half.
“Hamas is currently rejecting [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress,” one official said.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Witkoff’s plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the continued deal. The rest of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.However, some claim that the terrorist organization has not rejected the proposal. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal.”
Eyal Zamir to Gaza border community heads: We’re preparing to fight
On his first day as the new IDF chief of staff on Thursday, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told heads of local councils from the Gaza border communities that “we are preparing to return to fighting” in Gaza.
“We must defeat Hamas,” Zamir said. “We are also preparing to resume fighting. The hostages are our top priority.”
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
Negotiations over the continued release of hostages held in Gaza have stalled, and “right now there is nothing happening,” sources familiar with details of the talks admitted in conversation with The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
“Right now, there’s nothing happening,” an Israeli official told the Post, adding that “Hamas is currently rejecting the Witkoff proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress.”
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Witkoff plan involves the release of half of the living hostages and the return of half of the bodies on the first day of the deal. The second half of the hostages and bodies would be returned on the 42nd day, which would be the final day of the ceasefire.
On the other hand, some claim that Hamas has not rejected the proposal. “Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected the Witkoff proposal,” said a source with knowledge of the negotiations with the Post.“Hamas has said it is willing to negotiate and has not rejected the plan. Since Israel currently states that this is the proposal on the table, from Israel’s perspective, Hamas has rejected it.”
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff not expected to visit Israel soon, source says
An Israeli source told the Post that there is no expectation for Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to visit the region at the moment, adding, “He will only come to finalize a deal. And since there is no real progress right now, it is unclear when or if he will arrive.”
Without an agreement on the release of additional hostages in the coming days, Israeli sources say Israel is preparing to escalate its actions against Hamas. After the decision on Sunday to stop humanitarian aid, Israel is preparing to cut off water and electricity to the Gaza Strip, as well as resume fighting – some say this might happen, without a deal, as early as next week.
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues.
“The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Israel responded to the mediators’ request to allow a few more days of negotiations. Katz added,d “If Hamas does not release the hostages soon, the gates of Gaza will be locked and the gates of hell will be opened – we will return to fighting, and they will face the IDF with forces and methods they have never encountered before.”
Israeli officials suggest that even without accepting the Witkoff initiative, Hamas might agree to release additional hostages in the near future in exchange for the release of terrorists from prison and the entry of caravans and humanitarian aid, but they add that this also depends on other issues. “The Israeli government needs to decide what will be negotiated with Hamas and what they will receive in exchange for the release of hostages in the coming weeks,” said an Israeli source. “Hamas’s agreement to release more hostages depends on the answers to these questions.”
No progress has been made in the ceasefire talks in Cairo, and Israel is reaching a dead end, a source familiar with the details of the negotiations told The Jerusalem Post Saturday.
There were lots of technical discussions but no results, the source added.
Israel and mediating countries believe that only the Trump administration can perhaps break the talks out of the impasse.
“When [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff arrives, things may happen. Everyone is waiting for him,” the source said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a meeting on the hostage deal in the next several hours with senior officials and the negotiation team, an Israeli official told the Post.
Hamas refusing Israeli proposal to extend phase one of deal
Hamas is refusing the idea of extending the first phase of the deal, Israeli officials said.
The Israeli and Qatari delegations arrived in Cairo on Thursday. The delegation is led by Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Persons, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch, as well as “M,” an anonymous officer from the Shin Bet. M is the former deputy of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who is reportedly no longer part of the hostage deal negotiating team.
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