IDF Cracking Down on Palestinian Incitement
Samaria (TPS) – IDF troops raided several institutions in Judea and Samaria and seized Palestinian propaganda and incitement materials on Tuesday, March 22.
The first raid was conducted at Arab American University of Jenin (AAUJ) where AAUJ spokesperson Fathi Omour said that soldiers confiscated materials such as papers, flags, and computers.
“The raid team confiscated propaganda inciting to violence on Tuesday as part of a crackdown to curb the violence fueled by Palestinian incitement,” announced an official at the IDF Spokesperson’s Office.
According to the IDF, the seized materials were of inciting nature and were linked to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups.
The AAUJ is a private academic institution in the city of Jenin in northern Samaria and was founded and is run in collaboration with California State University, Stanislaus.
IDF troops confiscated files and computers from the offices of a charity organization in the city of Tulkarem in Samaria in another raid later on Tuesday. The organization was funded by the Palestinian Ministry of Waqf (Endowment) and Religious Affairs.
According to reports by the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency, similar raids have occurred over the past several months and included the shutting down of several Palestinian radio stations.
An IDF spokesperson confirmed these reports to TPS saying “the closure orders were issued for incitement to terrorism. One of the stations was associated with the Islamic Jihad movement, an illegal terror organization.”
These recent raids are part of a preventative effort and a new strategy in combating the near-daily attacks which have claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and two Americans since mid-September.
“Palestinian incitement by the political leadership, the media and the education system is a decisive factor in catalyzing the wave of Palestinian terrorism afflicting Israel in the recent months,” stated a spokesperson from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu had argued in his address to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC on the day of the arrests that incitement by the PA was driving the recent violence and perpetuating the conflict.