Israeli security forces arrested 12 individuals in East Jerusalem overnight on suspicion of participating in a pro-Hamas demonstration, celebrating the release of a convicted terrorist under the Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal, a police spokesperson said.

During the raids, police seized Hamas flags, fireworks, a pellet gun, and a large sum of money, evidence suggesting an organized effort to glorify Hamas-linked violence.

While police did not specify the demonstration in question, the arrests follow the circulation of footage from a parade celebrating the release of Ashraf Zughayer, a Hamas terrorist convicted in 2002 for driving suicide bombers to their targets. The video, which spread across social media, shows large crowds parading through Jerusalem’s Kafr Aqab neighborhood, waving Hamas flags. Zughayer himself is seen atop a slow-moving pickup truck, central to the demonstration.

Earlier this week, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King publicly called on police to take action against the demonstrators and identify the Dodge Ram pickup truck featured in the video. “How many Dodge Ram vehicles are there in Jerusalem?” King posted on X.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)