Why Are Terrorists Updating Their Facebooks From Israeli Prisons?

Yes. You read that correctly. Convicted murderers -- including terrorists -- are using smartphones to update their Facebook pages and receive "Likes" from friends, right from their Israeli prison cells. They're even ordering "supplies" from friends and family who drop by for a visit.

In what is generally reserved for the Bernie Madoff's of the world, terrorists are enjoying the spoils of home, tweeting by day and indulging in lavish smorgasbords by night.  Between these creature comforts and a generous salary and benefits package provided by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists in Israeli prisons, some might say there are perverse terrorist enlistment incentives running amok.

From a truly mind-boggling Arutz Sheva article:

While garden-variety miscreants are isolated from society during their jail terms, Hamas and Fatah terrorists are able to take advantage of the best the internet has to offer, thanks to the smartphones they smuggle into their cells – and which, they say, prison officials know about, but ignore, in order to ensure “industrial quiet” and avoid unrest among inmates.

A report in Ma'ariv Tuesday describes how Arab terrorists in Israeli prisons for murder and terrorism communicate via cellphone with friends and relatives on a daily basis. The phones they use all have internet connections, and by using the browsers they come equipped with, terrorists manage Facebook and Twitter accounts, and even “order in” supplies from those who come to visit them.

One terrorist, for example, who is serving three life sentences for organizing a suicide bomber attack in Be'ersheva, told Ma'ariv reporter Amit Cohen about his online adventures. Among other things, he posts photos from his prison cell to his social media accounts, and has taken “group photos” with fellow terrorist prisoners and posted those as well. One terrorist was able to listen in to his father's funeral via cellphone, and others have garnered hundreds of “likes” from Facebook users, who know exactly with whom they are connecting, since the terrorists do not hesitate to use their real names. One prisoner even posted a photo of a “banquet” he and his pals conducted within prison walls, using supplies they apparently got from a visitor, who supplied them with fare far better than they could expect from the prison kitchen.

But, I thought Israel supposedly abused its captives.

To the contrary, these terrorists conduct their Facebook PR campaigns right under the noses of prison guards, using high-speed internet access (faster than even my own, I bet)!

Perhaps most disturbing, the Ma'ariv article says, are the interviews the terrorists conduct on a regular basis with Arab media. Some conduct short audio interviews, but in order to avoid undue attention, it has become more popular of late to conduct Facebook interviews, where they simply type in their responses to questions.

But, it's O.K. -- the terrorists have voluntarily decided not to use their mobile devices and internet access to plot ill-deeds against Israeli civilians. Wheph! I feel better now, don't you?

In order to preserve their “rights,” the terrorists have taken upon themselves not to use their devices for activity that would endanger Israeli security – such as organizing terrorist attacks – the prisoners told Cohen. “The prison authorities know that we have these devices,” one of the prisoners told Cohen. “We have a silent agreement with them. They turn a blind eye, as long as we do not use the devices for activity against Israeli civilians or the IDF.” Prison officials, in turn, get a more cooperative population that does not want to lose its benefit.

In response, the Prisons Service denied any knowledge of any deals.

Human rights abuse indeed.

(H/T: Arutz Sheva)