Palestinian Claims of Abuse Disputed by Social Media Photos

Mohammad, a Palestinian militant, was released from Israeli prison as part of a prisoner swap deal for Israelis held by Hamas. On social media, he claimed he left Israeli custody with both arms broken, allegedly due to harsh treatment by the guards. He added that he needed medical attention which he did not receive, and subsisted on just a small bowl of rice. Additionally, he stated that ten prisoners had to share five mattresses.

After his story gained millions of views, Channel 13 uncovered the truth: Mohammad had posted photos on his account taken the day before his release, showing him to be healthy and smiling with both arms fully intact.

Host Guy Lerer commented on the program: "Apparently, he sits with two arms in casts looking genuinely distressed, but we reached out to the prison service to ask about this, and they recalled the release video showing him very differently, what happened? Perhaps he got injured from celebrating."

Zvi Yehezkeli noted during the broadcast: "The Palestinian industry of lies—they are addicted to these stories. I have been fooled by such reports, visiting security prisoners, there are those who commit 'farce' stabbing attacks just to earn a degree and food in prison. Seriously. Enough."

This is not the first time Palestinians and Hamas have been caught lying. Beyond their false announcements, recently an embarrassing event involved Salah Al-Jafrawi, a well-known social media personality in Gaza. Al-Jafrawi, who has over 1.5 million Instagram followers and documents life in Gaza along with destroyed homes, has managed to demonstrate how ingrained the culture of dishonesty within Hamas is.

He posted another video on social media appearing injured in a hospital in critical condition. The issue: Twitter users raised several questions challenging his credibility. For example, they pointed out no medical devices were active around him, his body seemed in good condition for being critically injured, and his Instagram account remained active. Hours later, a "miracle" occurred: he was seen smiling and wrote that he was off to sleep.