Police arrest Arab who allegedly called for murder of Israeli cop

Police announced that they arrested a suspect Monday who allegedly posted a threatening post against the police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Nassim Abu Rumi on August 15 in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Investigators located a threatening post directed at one of the officers who helped thwart the August 15 attack, police said. They then used advanced cyber technology to identify the suspect’s location in east Jerusalem. He was arrested and put under investigation.

“The Israel Police are engaged in a determined fight against crimes against uniformed officers, including in cyberspace, and will use all the means and methods necessary to quickly reach and prosecute the suspects,” police said in a statement following the arrest.

The police first learned of the threat against the officer in a Facebook post uploaded by the Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency.

“The extremist Zionist policeman circled in blue who shot the two Jerusalemite boys, Nassim Abu Rumi and Hamoudeh al-Sheikh, two days ago was also the one who took furniture from the prayer house at the Gate of Mercy last night,” read the post on the popular Facebook page with more than seven million followers.

In the comment section of the post, which was later removed by Facebook, dozens of commentators issued threatening calls against the police officer, with one vowing that “the time of his stabbing is soon.”

Following a number of complaints, Facebook removed the post under grounds that it was inciting violence.

On August 15, Rumi stabbed a police officer in a terrorist attack near the entrance to the Temple Mount. He was accompanied by Hamoudeh Al-Sheikh, 14, who was critically wounded in the event.

These Palestinians allegedly stabbed a 40-year-old officer during operational activity. Other police present at the scene shot at the two suspected assailants, killing Rumi.

Tom Nisani, director of Im Tirtzu’s Arab desk, referred the post to police, according to the NGO, and said that “all those who threaten civilians and policemen alike need to be behind bars.”

“The time has come to treat the Temple Mount like any other sovereign place in Israel and crack down on the Arab-Islamist social networks that frequently incite violence against policemen and Jewish worshipers,” Nisani said.