The big brother is watching (illustration)
Photo: Visual Photos
A Gaza first: Fatah operative arrested for 'lying on Web'
Hamas police source says man arrested in Strip on suspicion of 'electronic offenses', Fatah operative detained for allegedly inciting against Hamas on Web forums
Thought police - Gaza-style: The Hamas police
in Gaza arrested on Sunday night a Fatah operative
who had allegedly distributed lies on Fatah Web forums. This is a first-of-its-kind arrest, and it appears Hamas' battle against Fatah has glided into the internet.
Hamas' Gaza security apparatuses informed on Monday that the arrest was made possible due to information received in the "Electronic Security" unit, belonging to the police's general intelligence corpus. Upon the end of the investigation it was decided to arrest Fatah operative Bader Abed Ael on the suspicion of spreading "truth distorting lies" which cause incitement in Gaza.
The police informed that following the disclosure of the operative's true identity it was decided to apprehend him in a sting operation, at the end of which he was arrested and taken for interrogation.
In a Hamas announcement it was further stated that the Electronic Security Unit was asked to closely monitor websites and prevent "lie spreaders and inciters" to achieve their goals of inflaming the area.
A Palestinian police official in Gaza told Ynet that this constitutes the first web-related arrest in Gaza. He explained that "many Fatah operatives admit in their interrogations that they, among other things, distribute information online".
"However, this is the first arrest of a man involved in electronic offences of disseminating false information", he added.
New law
Hamas police have recently exerted efforts to strengthen their sovereignty on Gaza's streets. A new law forbidding riding a motorcycle without a helmet is expected to take effect on Tuesday, for the first time.
A Palestinian police official in Gaza told Ynet that the motorcycle area has been widely breached recently. "The treatment of motorcycles has been carefree, and seeing an 11 or 12-year-old ride a motorcycle without a helmet was not out of the ordinary," he explained.
He added that it had been decided to apply licensing laws on drivers and motorcycles, just as had been done for four-wheel vehicles.
