The video posted online caused outrage and renewed conversation about violence being celebrated and encouraged on Palestinian social media
December 7, 2022 13:14
Two Palestinian teenagers in East Jerusalem who were arrested last week after posting a video showing them humiliating a Charedi man by forcing him to kiss their hands and feet were released to house arrest on Tuesday.
A viral TikTok video, taken in the Old City of Jerusalem, showed the teen duo intimidating the man, who was dressed in traditional Orthodox clothing, before making him kiss the hand of one of them and kneeling to kiss the foot of the other.
The video sparked immediate widespread outrage and led to the arrest of the pair.
*בהמשך לסרטון טיקטוק-המשטרה מעדכנת שעצרה שני חשודים:* החשודים (16,14 תושבי העיר העתיקה בירושלים), הועברו לחקירה ובשעה זאת, החשודים מובאים לדיון בבית המשפט.איכס גועל נפש .. מאסר עולם צריך על דבר כזה . pic.twitter.com/5XBtDChJ9X
— כל החדשות בזמן אמת 🟢 (@Saher95755738) December 2, 2022
In a statement, the police said that the State Prosecutor’s Office had decided to release the two teens aged 14 and 16 to house arrest while they investigated the incident further. The identities of the suspects, who are underage, have not been made public.
The Jerusalem police said: “The decision to send the suspects into house arrest under restrictive conditions in no way speaks to their innocence or to the results of the investigations.”
The video, which has since been removed by TikTok though other versions of it have been reposted to the platform, has raised concerns that social media is contributing to a renewed surge in violence by Palestinian youth against visibly Jewish Israelis.
In October, the TikTok account of the terror group Lion’s Den was banned after it quickly gained a large following due to spreading videos of attacks against Israelis.
Several arrests were made last year after a social media trend arose of Palestinians humiliating and assaulting ultra-Orthodox Jews and uploading the clips to social media.