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Israeli rights group condemns 'illegal' SMS texts allegedly sent to Palestinians by intelligence agency

13 May 2021 11:49 BST

A leading organisation representing Israel's minorities has condemned the country's Shin Bet intelligence agency for allegedly sending SMS messages to Palestinians that said it would "punish" them for involvement in protests around al-Aqsa Mosque.

Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel said on Thursday that it had sent an urgent letter to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and Nadav Argaman, director of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency demanding a halt to the practice.

One example of the SMS messages sent and circulated on social media showed Arabic text reading: "Hello. You have been identified as someone who participated in acts of violence at Al-Aqsa Mosque. We will punish you."

Adalah said Shin Bet had not denied involvement in sending the texts, but had said the intelligence service did not "comment on operational activities.”

"Adalah emphasized in its letter that, in addition to the nature of the threatening text messages that violate the privacy of their recipients, the sending of such messages by the Shin Bet is illegal and extends beyond the scope of its authority," said Adalah in a statement.

The organisation said it also "stressed that this reported activity violates the Israeli Supreme Court ruling regarding the Shin Bet’s use of location surveillance of Israeli citizens in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic."

Palestinians in Jerusalem who received the messages told MEE that they were undaunted by them:

Palestinians in Jerusalem 'not afraid' of threatening texts from 'Israeli intelligence'

Many Palestinians near the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem were sent a threatening text warning them about suspected involvement in
Many Palestinians near the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem were sent a threatening text warning them about suspected involvement in "violence" (Screengrab/Twitter)