Negev Resident Charged With Inciting Terrorism and Supporting Hamas

The Southern District Attorney's Office has filed an indictment against Dipalah Abu Regila, a 19-year-old resident of Shagav Shalom in the Negev, for dozens of offenses including inciting terrorism, expressing identification with a terror organization, and directly calling for terrorist acts. The charges stem from 45 publications Abu Regila allegedly posted on his TikTok account, which contained incitement and expressions of solidarity, particularly concerning the October 7th attacks and acts of terrorism. His TikTok account, which was public, had 877 followers and approximately 5,500 likes.

According to the indictment, filed by attorney Noam Eliyahu Lev, Abu Regila extensively shared content from pages identified with Hamas and memorial pages for terrorists. These posts included documentation of the October 7th attack and praise for terrorists such as Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Ahmed Yassin, and Ibrahim al-Nabulsi. One shared video reportedly lauded a terrorist for killing 20 Israelis in 10 minutes during the October 7th massacre. Another post, deemed a direct call to terrorism, shared a video presenting jihad as a religious duty and a path to purifying Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The prosecution has requested that Abu Regila be held in custody until the end of legal proceedings, citing the volume and nature of his publications, including direct calls for terror, as evidence of his dangerousness. They argue that the current security situation exacerbates the risk posed by such offenses and that his release could endanger public safety.

A search of Abu Regila's mobile phone revealed daily engagement with terrorism-related content, including WhatsApp messages, photos, and following of pages supporting Hamas and memorializing its operatives. Prosecutors stated that the evidence paints a disturbing picture of the defendant's mindset, showing "thoughts and hopes of carrying out attacks, massive preoccupation with terrorism, and support for Hamas, its ideology, and the October 7th massacres."

During his interrogation, Abu Regila reportedly stated, "I didn't like Hamas before. After October 7th, I saw many people uploading videos of them on TikTok, and that made me like them."