An advisor to US President Donald Trump has been caught red handed using fake videos to attack Palestinians, even as Israeli airstrikes killed 24 civilians in Gaza over the weekend.
Katrina Pierson, senior advisor to Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, tweeted footage of rocket fire in Ukraine but claimed it shows Palestinian rocket barrage targeting Israel.
She used the footage to lash out at pro-Palestinian Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Sunday, after the Muslim-American representative from Minnesota criticised Israel’s assault on the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“650 Rockets being fired into Israel from Gaza in an attempt to overwhelm Israels Iron Dome: 173 intercepts, 4 people killed, and 28 wounded. What is @IlhanMN response to this violence? Will she condemn it?,” tweeted Pierson, who was the national spokesperson for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Twitter users however were quick to point out that the video dates back to 2015 and shows missile attacks during the Ukrainian conflict.
American news website Mediaite accused Pierson of spreading a “fake video” in her Twitter attack on Omar.
The tweet has yet to be removed or corrected.
650 Rockets being fired into Israel from Gaza in an attempt to overwhelm Israels Iron Dome: 173 intercepts, 4 people killed, and 28 wounded. What is @IlhanMN response to this violence? Will she condemn it? pic.twitter.com/Vb1Ymxygj6
— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) May 5, 2019
“How many more protesters must be shot, rockets must be fired, and little kids must be killed until the endless cycle of violence ends?,” tweeted Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, on Sunday night.
“The status quo of occupation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unsustainable. Only real justice can bring about security and lasting peace,” she added.
Rashida Tlaib for her part had strong words for US mainstream media, singling out the New York Times for ‘dehumanising’ Palestinians in their coverage of Gaza.
“When will the world stop dehumanising our Palestinian people who just want to be free? Headlines like this & framing it in this way just feeds into the continued lack of responsibility on Israel who unjustly oppress & target Palestinian children and families,” the Michigan Democrat tweeted, over a headline by the US daily.
This comes after at least 24 Palestinians, including a pregnant woman, were killed in Israeli strikes on the strip over the past 48 hours, with US President Donald Trump coming out strongly in support of Israel’s deadly actions.
“Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100 [percent] in its defence of its citizens,” Trump said on Twitter Sunday.
“To the Gazan people – these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace – it can happen!”
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