Few days ago, social media platforms were flooded with image of a Gazan female named Jamila Al-Hessi told Al Jazeera that she saw Israeli soldiers “raping women then killing them and burning entire families alive” after entering the Al-Shifa Hospital where Hamas terrorists had barricaded themselves. The story quickly went viral on social media, prompting widespread condemnation of the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). After more than 24 hours of letting the story run freely and generating massive reaction on social media platforms, Al Jazeera silently deleted the entire item as the news was proven to be totally baseless and a blatant lie.
Former director of Al Jazeera Yasser Abuhilalah in a tweet admitted that “It was revealed through Hamas investigations that the story of the rape of women in Al-Shifa Hospital was fabricated… The woman who spoke about rape justified her exaggeration and incorrect talk by saying that the goal was to arouse the nation’s fervor and brotherhood”, adding critically that “As if more than thirty thousand martyrs, ninety thousand wounded, about a million displaced people, and comprehensive destruction were not enough!”
According to Jerusalem Post, Jihad Khelles, a pro-Hamas preacher from Gaza, also tweeted that it became evident that there was no proven evidence for the events and that the alleged “witness” told a story that she had heard and not witnessed, also adding that “this creates panic and fear” and “makes [Palestinians] feel despair and frustration at a time when we are most in need for stability and reassurance”.
Jpost said, the fake testimony of Jamila Al-Hessi went viral, with many expressing their rage at Israel and at what they deemed Arab failure to protect the honor of Palestinian women, even asking where Hamas and the resistance had gone. However, Israeli news blogger Abu Ali Express also reported that the viral fake testimony also had unexpected reverse ripple effects, leading many Gazans to flee their homes in the northern Gaza strip southwards, which may explain the unusual event of a Hamas investigation into the details.
It may be mentioned here that Al Jazeera is infamous for promoting radical Islam, jihadism, religious extremism while it gives publicity to global terror outfits such as Al Qaeda, Islamic State (ISIS) etcetera.
Meanwhile, according to Washington Free Beacon, on March 24, a group of keffiyeh-clad individuals huddled around a computer to discuss the “Palestinian resistance”. Charlotte Kates, a member of the Israeli-designated terror group Samidoun, praised Hamas’s October 7 terror attack for showing “the potential of a future for Palestine liberated from Zionism”. Khaled Barakat, a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine activist, lauded airplane hijackings as “one of the most important tactics that the Palestinian resistance have engaged in”.
The Free Beacon said, “While those speakers and other attendees were explicit in their support for terrorism against Jews, the event did not take place in Gaza, Doha, or Tehran. It took place in New York City, where an anti-Semitic Columbia University student group – Columbia University Apartheid Divest – invited the speakers to deliver a lecture on “the fight for liberation”, titled “Palestinian Resistance 101”.
“A Columbia faculty group, Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, promoted the event in an Instagram post, which featured an image of a Palestinian boy throwing stones at an Israeli tank during the second intifada. The group launched in January, pledging to stand with anti-Semitic student protesters and “take back our University”. Its members include classics professor Joseph Howley, history professor Manan Ahmed, and history professor Marwa Elshakry”.
