Israel approves bill to imprison supporters of Palestine resistance

The Israeli Knesset yesterday approved, in the second and third readings, a draft bill stipulating one-year imprisonment for anyone who publishes material praising, showing sympathy for or encouraging the Palestinian resistance.

Under the new law, which applies to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and Israel, any individual who publishes material in the media or on social media platforms expressing support for Hamas and Palestinian resistance movements could face up to one-year imprisonment.

The bill exempts random posts or publications for legal purposes, however, according to the committee, “systematic and continuous reading of such material indicates belonging to the resistance organisation.”

The occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and Palestinians in Israel have witnessed an extreme state of tension in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip which led to the killing of over 10,000 Palestinians, including 4,800 children.

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