PH embassy in Tel Aviv website hacked

MANILA, Philippines – The website of the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv was hacked on Thursday, November 16, presumably in response to Israel’s harshest siege on the Gaza Strip in four years.

The hackers cloaked the site in white, posted a Palestinian flag, cursed Israel, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and France, and posted the message “FreeDom Palestine!” above a picture of a child wearing a keffiyeh or traditional Palestinian headscarf beside another Palestinian flag.

At the bottom of the page, a certain Backlink Satislarimiz Devam Ediyor claimed the attack and posted the email azrail_bjk_215@hotmail.com.

The hackers also uploaded a YouTube video showing alleged abuses committed by a Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint inside the Occupied Territories.

The attack on the website occurred the same day Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza for a second consecutive day, with at least 3 dead on each side in fierce fighting which began with Israel’s targeted killing of a top Hamas chief.

Updates on the violence unfolded on Twitter, with locals expressing fear through the social network site.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) began livetweeting the attack on Hamas, which the Jewish military called “an Iranian proxy responsible for terror attacks on Israel.”

Twitter user Samayya (@mayyasa1) said Israel was planning to cut off all communications in Gaza in order to start a “massacre.”

Meanwhile, the hacking collective Anonymous has jumped in for tips on skirting the Internet cut-off in Gaza.

The Philippines and Israel established bilateral relations in 1958 after the Philippines was the only Asian nation to vote in favor of the creation of the Jewish state at a UN vote in 1947.

Vice President Jejomar Binay recently visited Israel to strengthen ties between both countries and honor the “Open Door” policy of former President Manuel Quezon, who granted visas to thousands of Jews fleeing the Holocaust during World War II. – Rappler.com