Sabah al-Salam Haniyeh, sister of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, has been indicted on charges of identifying with a proscribed terrorist organization and incitement to terrorism.
The indictment against the 57-year-old resident of the Bedouin village of Tel Sheva in the Negev was presented on Sunday, April 21, in the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court along with a request to extend her detention until the end of the judicial proceedings.
According to the indictment, Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, a native of Gaza who is a resident and citizen of the State of Israel, actively supported terrorists and disseminated congratulations and posts in support of terrorism after the October 7 attack. On that day, thousands of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and "non-party" militants from the Gaza Strip invaded Israeli territory, killing over 1,400 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.
On October 9, she sent recordings via WhatsApp to 95 different people from her contact list, expressing solidarity with the terrorists and Hamas. These messages, written in Arabic, included prayers for the terrorists' success and encouragement for their actions.
Additionally, on October 10, she sent messages supporting terrorism to two of her WhatsApp groups, named "Grandma's Sweethearts" (consisting of 9 phone numbers) and "Haniyeh's Flowers" (consisting of 116 phone numbers). These messages contained prayers for the destruction of the enemy and called for the death and destruction of Israelis.
Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh's messages and calls for solidarity with Hamas and terrorists are interpreted as supporting terrorism and incitement to terrorism, according to the indictment.
