The fires raging across Israel, about half of which are believed to be arson, have spurred a flurry of celebratory and inciting social media posts among Palestinians and the broader Arab world.
One post on Twitter and other social media platforms stated that “the Jews are praying for rain to put out the fires that are destroying the homes that they built on the sacred lands of occupied Palestine, and we are praying that 95 benzene will drop from the sky and make the fire stronger.”
The post was shared hundreds of times and received thousands of “likes,” as well as comments including, “The homes of Jews now look like the homes in Gaza and the West Bank after bombings from the occupation army.” Another comment read, “From the reports, it seems that some of our Arab brothers in occupied Palestine are behind the wave of fires. If this is indeed the situation, we support the heroes who did this and call on them to continue and on others to join the arson intifada.”
Social media user Saif Bilal, from the United Arab Emirates, shared photos of the fires and wrote, “Just a few days ago, they outlawed muezzins (loudspeakers) in mosques and now Israel’s cities are burning. Israeli citizens will sleep in the streets tonight. May Allah burn all the cities in Israel.”
The incitement also reached Arab media outlets, which have shared false reports, including claims that Israeli fire-and-rescue teams were helping Jewish residents and abandoning Arab residents. Another false report claimed that “some of the shocking images were of Jewish residents who fled the fires, leaving their children behind.”
