In recent days, there has been a rise in incitement attempts by Arab citizens of Israel on social media networks, especially among residents of East Jerusalem and Palestinians. Two different events that occurred this week are being distorted by Arabs in order to incite against Israel and portray it in a negative light to the world.
The false publications, some of which are disseminated by terrorist organizations for incitement purposes, and some by Arab citizens of Israel, have focused this week on two different events: 1) a fatal car accident in Jerusalem, and 2) an attempted attack in the Old City. In this way, terrorist organizations and those with foreign interests attempt to harm Israel and incite hatred and violence based on cheap lies.
Killed in an accident and presented as a martyr killed by Jews
In the accident that occurred last night, an Arab resident of East Jerusalem was driving at excessive speed, recklessly overtaking a vehicle, aso driven by a man from East Jerusalem, inside a tunnel in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Lifta. He collided with the tunnel's barrier, sustaining serious injuries, and later succumbed to his injuries.
From the initial police investigation and clear documentation of the accident, it is evident that this was a single-vehicle road accident involving the motorcycle rider. After dangerously overtaking a vehicle at high speed, the rider collided forcefully with the tunnel's barrier, fell to the ground, was dragged along the road, and suffered severe injuries. Due to the strong impact, the motorcycle was also dragged along the road for several meters.
None of this deterred the creators of fake news and incitement from spreading false narratives and fabricating a baseless presentation on social media. In one of the images circulated by Arabs, they added a picture of a stone to falsely suggest that the accident was caused by a stone thrown by a Jew, creating a false nationalistic narrative that did not occur and has no basis in reality.
Next to the image of the deceased that circulated on social media, it was written: "The young man from Isawiya was killed after being attacked by settlers."
The Arabs cut the stabbing attempt: she tried to carry out an attack and was presented as a victim
The second incident occurred on Monday of this week, when in an attempted stabbing attack near the Huta Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, a terrorist from the Jenin area stabbed a Border Police officer in an attempt to murder him. Fortunately, she struck his protective vest, which absorbed the stabbing and prevented the knife from penetrating his body.
The police officer acted calmly and immediately subdued the terrorist using his hands and feet, refraining from firing his weapon in the narrow street to avoid harming passersby (worshipers who had arrived at the Temple Mount). Shortly after the attack, various Arab networks circulated a video showing the forceful arrest of the terrorist, portraying her as someone who was attacked after merely arriving to pray at the site.
The terrorist organizations and instigators manipulated the incident, omitting the moment of the stabbing and the attack itself, and circulated it on Arab networks in a manipulated and edited form for the purpose of incitement. The full documentation published by the police did not help, as the edited video, which presented a false narrative of the attack on an "innocent" woman, was shared on Arab networks in Israel and around the world.
The Israel Police: "We hope that these examples will open the eyes of those who fall into the trap"
From the Israeli police, it was reported: "Incitement and fake news on social media are not new and not uncommon. Various interested parties, including terrorist organizations, attempt to create a false, deceptive, and fabricated picture of events different from what actually occurred, for the purpose of incitement and spreading messages of hatred and violence. These attempts intensify during holiday seasons and various occasions.
"Unfortunately, there are still those who believe in this deceit, even after it has been proven time and time again that the intentions of those individuals are clear: to lie in order to incite, to distort reality in order to fuel hatred and violence.
"The Israel Police urges the Israeli public and internet users in general to refrain from spreading, sharing, and blindly believing in these false publications - publications that have no basis in reality. We hope that these examples will also open the eyes of those who continue to 'fall into the trap' time and time again when the truth is distorted, twisted, and completely false in various Arab networks."