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Hacktivist collective Anonymous have announced plans to attack Israeli military websites, including those of the military, in response to the ongoing detention of Mohammed Al-Qeeq, a Palestinian journalist detained on charges that he has connections with terrorist organizations.
Al-Qeeq, a reporter for the Saudi own TV station Al Majd, was taken by Israeli police from his Ramallah home on 21 Nov. His family have been unable to see him since. Israeli police claim that he has ties with the Palestinian extremist organization Hamas and are detaining Al-Qeed under “administrative detention” which allows them to detail someone without obtaining a warrant from a judge if that person is a threat to national security.
Al-Qeed has denied ties with Hamas and claimed that his unarrest was unfair. Four days after his arrest, Al-Qeed decided to go on hunger strike and has at present refused food for over 80 days. He has lost most of his sight, voice, and hearing. Because of his deteriorating health, he has been taken to an Israeli hospital but he has refused food and treatment unless he is transferred to a West Bank hospital. So far, authorities have refused his requests and his state remains critical.
In response to Al-Qeed’s detention, Anonymous are asking their members and supporters to join in a large-scale protest. In a statement posted on PasteBin, the organization encouraged “all citizens of the world to join us in this fight to free an illegally detained man”.
The planned protest, which Anonymous are referring to using the hashtags #OpAlQeed, #OpSaveGaza and #FreeAlQeed, will include calling local Israeli embassies, street protests, posting on social media as well as hacking. The organization asked hacktivists around the world to attack Israeli military forces and posted a list of IP addresses of websites related to the Israeli military.
This is not the first time Anonymous have targeted Israel. Last year the group released a video in which they announced they intend to carry out an “electronic holocaust” against Israel although so far there have been no reports of a successful large scale attack.
Furthermore, in 2012 hackers posted credit card details of over 400,000 cards owned by Israelis online and launched DDoS attacks on a number of Israeli websites, including the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
