(JTA) — The international hacking group Anonymous said it will target Israeli websites in a coordinated effort it called an “electronic Holocaust.”
The organization said its “elite cyber squadrons” would attack Israeli servers, government and military websites, banks and public institutions on April 7, as it did one year ago.
“This is a message to the foolish Zionist entities: We are coming back to punish you again for your crimes in the Palestinian territories, as we do every year on the 7th of April,” the video message posted last month on YouTube said. “All we see is continued aggression, bombing, killing and kidnapping of the Palestinian people.”
The message showed images of last summer’s conflict in Gaza, including video of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel being briefed by Israeli army officers.
Exactly one year ago, Anonymous launched an identical attack against Israel that brought down the websites of the country’s postal service and Education Ministry, as well as some private Israeli websites. The group also published online a list of phone numbers, emails and passwords of senior Israeli officials.
The year before, the group took down dozens of websites and published online a list of hundreds of Israeli email addresses and credit card numbers.
The April 7 attack, the latest video said, is an “electronic Holocaust” designed to be “a message to the youth of Palestine.”
“You are a symbol of freedom, resistance and hope. Never give up and never give in, we will support you,” the message said.
The attacks will continue, Anonymous said, “until the people of Palestine are free.”
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