A video shared on Instagram claims to show a Palestinian child being detained by Israeli soldiers.
Verdict: Misleading
The video is from 2018. It is not related to the current conflict.
Fact Check:
Social media users have been sharing a video of Israeli soldiers detaining a child and claims they are recent. One user wrote, “IOF soldiers detaining a 3 year old!! In the west bank!”
This video, though, is not from 2023 or related to the current conflict. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the video is from 2018. The Middle East Monitor, a pro-Palestinian lobbying group, reported that the video shows Israeli troops briefly detaining a child after making fun of him.
“According to Raed Abu Rumaila, who uploaded the footage, soldiers mocked and swore at the toddler as he played in the Ibrahimi Mosque neighbourhood of the city. The boy later went into his house and returned with a ‘courgette corer’. He was then detained by the soldiers,” the group reported.
Haaretz, an Israeli outlet, reported that the boy was briefly detained for allegedly throwing stones. A Border Police spokesman told Haaretz that the “provocation that does not reflect the situation and was intended to paint the security forces in a bad light.” (RELATED: Claims Of Mass IDF Casualties Lack Evidence)
“The video is cut and edited. This was a young boy who was sent to throw stones at Border Police officers and with a screwdriver in his hand for ‘a stabbing attempt,’ and with his relatives watching him from a distance,” the Border Police spokesman told Haaretz.
Lead Stories also debunked this claim.