Fatah image shows Netanyahu ready for hanging at ICC
Graphic posted to Facebook page features prime minister pictured next to noose, with the slogan ‘coming soon’
An official website run by the political party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas posted an image on Saturday showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next to a hangman’s noose with the phrase “coming soon.”
The image came days after Palestinian officials applied for membership in the International Criminal Court in the Hague. It was flagged by Israel-based watchdog Palestinian Media Watch.
The image was displayed on Fatah’s official Facebook page and included a logo of the ICC.
On Friday the PA submitted paperwork to join the ICC in a unilateral move strongly opposed by Israel and the US. Joining the ICC could open the way for the PA to sue Israel or IDF soldiers in the ICC on charges of war crimes.
Netanyahu has vowed to protect IDF soldiers from being prosecuted at the court.
Israeli officials have repeatedly accused Palestinian groups, including Fatah, of engaging in incitement against Israelis and Jews via official media channels.
Last week Fatah distanced itself from an image of skulls adorned with Jewish stars that was post to its Facebook page.
The image, posted on Wednesday, displayed a rifle, the Fatah flag and the words “lingering on your skulls.” It was posted on the occasion of Fatah’s 50th anniversary.
A spokesman for Fatah told CNN on Friday that the group was not responsible for the image.
“Fatah did not design this image,” Mahmoud al-Aloul said, who added that the person who posted it “is currently being asked to remove it. The image and the text do not reflect the opinions of Fatah.”
The image was removed after al-Aloul’s comments were made to CNN.
This is not Fatah’s first Facebook controversy. After the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers last summer, Fatah’s page displayed a number of cartoons, including one depicting the kidnapped teens as rats caught on a fishing line.
