A U.S. citizen is being held in detention by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank over alleged “incitement on social media.”
Samaher Esmail, 46, a Palestinian American who lives in New Orleans, had been staying at a home she owns in Silwad, near Ramallah, when she was arrested early Monday, her son Ibrahim Hamed said.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed her arrest, saying in a statement that it conducted an operation Monday in the Silwad area to arrest “wanted suspects.” Esmail had returned to the West Bank in November in part to attend a hearing with Israeli officials related to an encounter with Israeli forces in December 2022, Hamed said.
“As part of the operation, Samaher Esmail was arrested for incitement on social media,” the IDF said. “Suspects arrested in the operation were transferred to the security forces for further questioning.”
The IDF would not comment on what specific social media posts triggered the arrest.
Rights groups have warned that free speech is being threatened in Israel and the occupied West Bank in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and the war in Gaza.
A State Department spokesperson told NBC News it was “aware of reports of detention of a U.S. citizen in the West Bank” and is trying to get more information.
Videos shot by Esmail’s neighbors in Silwad on Monday show her blindfolded, handcuffed and without a hijab, and being taken away in the early hours in a jeep.
A review of her Facebook account by NBC News revealed posts that appeared to praise Hamas fighters and the Oct. 7 attacks. She also reposted a video on Oct. 13 that contained antisemitic tropes about “blood libel” and referring to Jews as “pigs.”
There were also photos on Esmail’s Facebook that appeared to show her with a gun.
Hamed, 27, who also lives in New Orleans and works at Xavier University of Louisiana, denied that his mother was antisemitic or supported Hamas. He also told NBC News that a photo of her carrying a gun was taken during his…
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