JERUSALEM: Palestinian singer Dalal Abu Amneh was arrested by Israeli police for “incitement” after posting on Facebook in support of Gaza.
The post featured a Palestinian flag with the caption: “There is no victor but God”.
It was published last Saturday by the artist’s media team, according to her lawyer Abeer Bakr.
Bakr added that the artist “is still subject to investigation and at this moment no (official) decision has been taken to extend her detention”. She stressed that “this is the intention of the police (to arrest her), even before they interrogate her”, according to the Arab 48 newspaper.
Israeli police arrived at the artist’s house to arrest her after filing complaints against Israeli settlers for harassment.
Shai Glick, director of the Israeli right-wing activist group, demanded that the President of the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), Uri Sivan, remove alleged supporters of Hamas, including Abu Amneh, from the institute.
Abu Amneh is a research doctor in brain sciences and neurophysiology at the Technion, and has no links to the Islamist movement.
She has been praised for reviving traditional Palestinian heritage and folk music through her music videos that are currently produced by and aired on Al Araby 2 TV, a sister channel of The New Arab.
She is vocal in her support for Palestine, both through her songs and outside music. She boycotted Dubai’s EXPO 2020 due to the UAE’s recent normalisation with Israel.
Israeli police have launched a series of arrests within the Palestinian community, since the beginning of Gaza war. Most of these arrests are related social media posts. Job terminations, and threats of expulsion from universities have also been recorded among Palestinians in Israel due to posts condemning the attacks on Gaza.
Israel has launched a wave of arrests and raids in the occupied West Bank since 7 October, when 1,300 Israelis were killed by Hamas gunmen. Around 61 people have been killed and 700 detained in the West Bank, including 200 suspected members of Hamas.
Israeli retaliatory strikes on Gaza have killed at least 2,800 Palestinians, including over a thousand children.
