Daughter of Palestinian 'martyr' arrested for praising father online

The Israeli magistrates court has remanded the daughter of the man who killed two Israelis in a drive-by shooting yesterday in custody until next Thursday, after she praised her father as a 'martyr' on Facebook.

Iman Abu Sbeih, 17, daughter of Misbah Abu Sbeih, was arrested at her house in al-Ram village on Monday morning for praising her father's actions.

"We consider my father a martyr," she said, "We hope he will plead for us before God on judgment day – I am proud of what my father did."

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Translation: In the morning, he said to her: take care for your prayers and your studies, Iman.
Father (#Lion_of_al_Aqsa) and daughter give us all lessons in patience and strength. We draw strength from you, Iman.

Iman Abu Sbeih then recounts the events of the morning of the shooting, when she prayed with her father and asked him if he would like her to visit him in prison.

"He told me to continue my studies and to keep up my prayers," she said.

A lawyer who was involved in the case told The New Arab that Iman Abu Sbeih would be detained until Thursday in order to allow for a proper investigation.

"The judge extended the girl's arrest until next Thursday so that they could complete an investigation into charges of incitement, in the context of the video which was posted to social media," Mohammed Mahmoud, a lawyer, said.

Misbah Abu Sbeih was shot dead by Israeli police after he killed two people and injured a number of others in a drive-by shooting on Sunday morning. According to the Israeli police, he was being pursued and had opened fire on police officers on motorbikes.

A spokesperson for Hamas confirmed on Sunday afternoon that Abu Sbeih was a member of their party and issued a statement calling him a martyr.

Abu Sbeih had been imprisoned by Israeli forces on a number of occasions for his activism. He was most recently arrested for holding up a number of signs on Facebook, reading: "We sacrifice our souls and our blood for you, al-Aqsa [mosque]" and "we sacrifice our children for al-Aqsa."

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A recent picture of Misbah Abu Sbeih