Dangerous messages (illustration)
Photo: Visual Photos
A 21-year-old Palestinian woman from the West Bank was sentenced Sunday to 15 months in prison, after being convicted of contacting an enemy agent and planning a suicide attack in Israel.
The Judea Military Court found the woman guilty of contacting an Islamic Jihad operative via the internet and plotting the attack.
Web Traps
Security establishment informed of cases in which hostile elements approached Israelis through various social networks to gather intelligence or lure them abroad for purpose of abduction
The 21-year-old told the court she was just "surfing the net as a pastime," but the internet correspondence presented demonstrated that the plan was taking shape, and was halted only after the computer malfunctioned.
The woman and her brothers were arrested shortly thereafter by the Israeli security forces.
The defense establishment noted an increase in internet use among terror activists. "The internet has a substantial contribution to greasing the wheels of terror, by distributing dangerous messages worldwide," said the court. "Terror groups have learned that they should take time and invest resources and considerable efforts in web-based PR."