Israel convicts Palestinian poet of inciting violence with social posts

An Israeli court on Thursday convicted Dareen Tatour, a Palestinian poet, of inciting terrorism and supporting a terrorist organisation over her posts on social networks, Israeli media reported.

The ruling came nearly three years after she was first arrested for publishing a poem on social media.

Tatour posted lines from one of her poems on Facebook in 2015 after a wave of Palestinian street attacks began in Israel and Palestine.

They read, "Resist, my people, resist them. Resist the settlers' robbery and follow the caravan of martyrs."

Tatour was arrested one week later, charged and held under house arrest for three years.

"Various publications that contain calls for acts of violence or terror, as well as expressions of encouragement for, praise to and identification with acts of violence or terrorism,” alleges the indictment referring to her posts on Facebook and YouTube.

"The whole world will hear my story. The whole world will hear what Israel's democracy is. A democracy for Jews only. Only Arabs go to jail," Tatour said after the verdict according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.

Following her arrest in 2015, she was held in detention for three months and was released to house arrest, with an electronic cuff.

Four months later she was allowed to leave the house for two hours on weekends, if accompanied, at the demand of Israeli authorities.

She is forbidden from using internet, phone or any other means of communication.

In May 2017, the conditions of her arrest were eased, allowing her to live under house arrest in her home village where she may only leave her house accompanied by a custodian.

When her trial drew criticism in Israel and around the globe, many famous poets signed a letter to help free her in 2016.

“The court said I am convicted of terrorism. If that's my terrorism, I give the world a terrorism of love,” Tatour said, after the verdict