The Prosecutor's Office on Sunday submitted to the Beersheba Magistrate's Court an indictment against Sabah Abdel Salam Haniyeh, the sister of Hamas' political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was arrested about three weeks ago on suspicion of support of a terrorist organization and incitement.
The indictment, filed by attorney Zion Kenan of the Southern District Attorney's Office, indicates that on October 9, Haniyeh, a resident of the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, sent dozens of her contacts WhatsApp messages that included words of praise and encouragement for the horrific massacres committed by Hamas on October 7. She sent the messages to WhatsApp groups such as "Grandma's Favorites" and "Haniyeh's Flowers," as well as to her brother.
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Arrest of Ismail Haniyeh's sister in southern Israel
(Photo: Reuters/West Asia News Agency, Israel Police)
Among the messages she wrote in Arabic: 'O our God, praise our brothers. This is a victory for your religion and liberation for our prisoners, and the elevation of your prophet Mohammad, prayers be upon him. This is the power and your superior abilities. Give them what you have and your power and your victory, O God."
The next day, and also a few days later, Haniyeh sent another message to other WhatsApp groups: "Hey guys. Whoever can send this prayer to all the names that are with you, it has a great effect on the destruction of the enemy. Scatter them and separate them and…. destroy them and destroy their buildings… and bring their end near and cut off their lives and let them be busy with their corpses and take them away… O God count them in number and kill them and do not leave any one of them. O God, do in their slaughter and keep us away from their evil.”
The WhatsApp group "Grandma's Loved Ones" had nine phone numbers, while the "Haniyeh's Flowers" group had 116 numbers - and in both groups, she posted words of praise, love and encouragement for Hamas.
Haniyeh was also suspected of the offense of contact with a foreign agent, but this offense was not included in the indictment. During her arrest, hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash and large amounts of hidden gold were found in her home.
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Money and gold bullion discovered in the home of Ismail Haniyeh's sister
(Photo: Israel Police)
The prosecution submitted a request for her detention until the end of the legal proceedings against her. "This is an Israeli citizen who comes from the Gaza Strip, a citizen who received her citizenship due to her marriage to an Israeli citizen," the indictment states. "The seriousness of her actions is learned from the content of the messages that reveal identification with the terrorist organization Hamas and include words of praise for the murderous and horrific acts of terrorism that were committed near the Gaza border on October 7, as well as the date of their publication, the number of recipients of her inciting messages wishing for the success of the enemy, as well as her position as the sister of senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh."
Haniyeh has three sisters who live in Israel: Sabah, Layla and Kholidia, who married Bedouin men who live in the Negev. Sabah was married at the age of 14 and helped her husband take care of his children as if they were her own. Today she is fighting cancer and receiving medical treatments.
Her family members say that she has not spoken to her brother for many years. However, she was previously convicted for illegally visiting the Gaza Strip in 2015, for which she and her sister, Layla, were sentenced to eight months of probation and a $5,380 fine.