Palestinian propaganda aimed at children depicts real-life terror attacks
The video, which has been shared on TikTok, an app popular with children, encourages terrorism by linking it with the State of Palestine.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDS, JERUSALEM POST STAFFScene of stabbing attack in Petah Tikva(photo credit: ALON HACHMON)
An animated video glorifying real-life terror attacks by Palestinians against Israelis has been shared on the social media app TikTok, which is popular with children.The minute-long video depicts an eagle flying alongside four terrorists as they carry out murderous attacks, all of which are based on real-life events, according to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), which unearthed the video.The video opens with the eagle swooping down to fly alongside a white van carrying out a ramming attack on Israelis at a Jerusalem light rail station. In November 2014, Palestinian terrorist Ibrahim Al-Akari ran over Israelis at a light rail station in Jerusalem, killing 38-year-old Jidan Assad and 17-year-old Shalom Aharon Badani, and injuring 13 others.The eagle flies on, again swooping as a religious Jew is stabbed to death in the Old City of Jerusalem. In October 2015, 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist Muhannad Halabi killed Rabbi Nehemiah Lavi and Aharon Bennett in a stabbing attack in the Old City.Two more real life attacks are depicted in the same way, one carried out by Musbah Abu Sbeih, who murdered two Israelis and wounded five others in drive-by shooting attacks in Jerusalem in October 2016, and another carried out by Muhammad Sa’id Ali, who stabbed several police officers near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem in October 2015.“This animation is utterly shocking. The graphic content aims to incite violence and glorify murder," said PMW’s senior analyst, Nan Jacques Zilberdik. "TikTok is a social network popular among children, so there is no doubting the target audience for this is Palestinian youngsters. It’s goal is to indoctrinate and the message is clear – whatever your chosen method, if you kill an Israeli, you too can become a hero”The eagle is an Islamic symbol depicting warlike aggression, military dominance and nobility. The coat of arms used by the Palestinian National Authority is an eagle with wings spread and the Palestinian flag across its body, standing atop a scroll featuring the word "Palestine." The message being depicted in the video is therefore clearly of a strong militaristic Palestine rising up to kill Jews in Israel.This is not the first time such videos encouraging Palestinian youths to commit terror attacks has appeared. PMW has documented hundreds, if not thousands, of similar examples of incitement found on social media posts, in PA official discourses and on TV.