Sabah Haniyeh, the sister of slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, took the witness stand for the first time Thursday at the Be’er Sheva Magistrate’s Court.

Haniyeh, 57, a resident of Tel Sheva, is charged with incitement and expressing identification with a terrorist organization. According to the indictment, she sent messages to her brother expressing support for Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

One of the messages allegedly stated: “Oh Allah, keep them busy with their dead and take them. Kill—and do not leave anyone.”

During the hearing, the defense focused on Haniyeh’s claim that she cannot read or write. She testified that family members assist her with messages and that she uses an electronic pen that reads text aloud to her.

“I lived in Gaza and never attended school,” she said. “I don’t know how to read or write. If someone sends me a ‘good morning’ message, I ask whoever is at home what it says. I have a book and an electronic pen that reads the text aloud. I press the buttons and it works.”

The defense presented the electronic pen in court, but Haniyeh had difficulty operating it on a Quran that was brought to her.

Prosecutor Masad confronted Haniyeh with her knowledge of the October 7 attack and the messages she allegedly sent to her brother. She continued to deny sending the messages, claiming that her phone was used by her children, grandchildren and daughters-in-law.

Describing the morning of October 7, Haniyeh testified: “The whole world was in chaos. We hid in a basement. I asked, ‘What happened? What was going on?’”

Haniyeh was arrested in April 2024. During a search of her home in Tel Sheva, police said they found documents, media devices, cellphones and other materials, along with hundreds of thousands of shekels.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)