Many of Israel's official websites have gone down in what the government says is a broad technical malfunction. The sites include that of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence services, the military spokesman, the Interior Ministry and others. In response to speculation that the shutdown was the result of a cyber attack by pro-Palestinian hackers, the Israeli government released a statement saying the problem "was not a cyber attack but only a technical malfunction." Sunday's statement said the problem was "currently being dealt with by experts." Earlier, the international hackers' group Anonymous had threatened the Israeli government in response to the Israeli navy attack on Friday on two humanitarian boats bound to Gaza in an attempt to break the siege. According to the Israeli paper Haaretz, the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security service and the Mossad's websites were affected. Other government websites including a treasury website as well as those of the ministries of housing, health and interior were also down. In a video message, uploaded on YouTube, Anonymous said, "We do not tolerate this kind of repeated offensive behavior against unarmed civilians... We along with 127 countries recognize Palestine as a state for the people of Palestine and such acts by you and your military are acts of war against a sovereign nation." The group, which has previously staged attacks against the toppled Egyptian and Tunisian regimes, warned of further attacks against Israeli targets if the Gaza siege continues.
