JERUSALEM — A report by German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung published earlier this week is calling into question the trustworthiness of the images coming out of the Gaza Strip, finding that at least some appear to be staged Hamas propaganda.
The investigation, covered by Bild on Aug. 5, focuses on photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha, a freelancer commissioned by Turkish news agency Anadolu. According to the newspaper, he apparently stages shots to maximize the narrative of Israeli-caused suffering.
For example, photos taken by him at a Gaza aid distribution site show mainly pleading women and children. But photographs by others at the same site show mostly adult men calmly waiting for and receiving food, according to the newspaper.
Israel’s President Herzog addressed the photographs in Tallinn, Estonia. Following his meeting with Estonian President Alar Karis, Herzog presented photocopies of two images to the press gathered at the presidential palace.
One of the photos depicted a photographer setting up a group shot of children.
“The UN is holding hundreds of trucks . . . the UN is failing to distribute. Instead of that, we see a PR campaign like this one revealed in a German newspaper,” Herzog said, referencing the Bild report.
“You see a photographer staging Gaza people to show that they are lacking food. This is staged. We don’t shy away from the humanitarian need to help the people of Gaza,”he continued, “but we ask the world not to fall for the lies. Condemn Hamas and say to Hamas, you want to move on? Get the hostages out.”
Herzog also showed a picture of Evyatar David from the video Hamas released last week depicting the starving hostage. “You see the fat hand of his captor,” Herzog said.
Fteiha is on a mission to “Free Palestine,” according to the Bild. His Instagram account shows him in combat gear with the inscription “Presse,” an image which, according to Bild, was created by “an avowed Jew-hater.”
Another video on his account is captioned “[expletive] Israel.”
Fteiha is also active in europe.palestine.network, which promotes international “resistance” against Israel, the paper reported.
Fteiha’s photographs have been published by Stern, New York magazine, CNN, BBC, Deutschlandfunk, Junge Welt and, at least before the revelations, by Bild itself.
The German daily was told by the German Press Agency and Agence France Press that they wouldn’t use Fteiha’s images in the future.
Reuters said that its photos “meet the standards of accuracy, independence and impartiality.”
Israel does not allow journalists into the Gaza Strip, leaving the field to Palestinian photographers, according to the German newspaper.
“In southern Gaza, Hamas controls 100% of image production,” photography expert Gerhard Paul told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Hamas’ goal is to incite against Israel and, according to Bild, it’s working.
“Hardly anyone is more adept at propaganda than Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations,” the report states.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry tweeted on Aug. 5, “Beware of fake news. A joint investigation by @SZ and @BILD reveals how Hamas uses ‘Pallywood,’ staged or selectively framed media, to manipulate global opinion.”
“Pallywood” is a term used to describe the staging by Palestinian terror groups of fake injuries and deaths to generate sympathy for themselves and anger at Israel.
“Pallywood has gone mainstream with staged images and ideological bias shaping international coverage, while the suffering of Israeli hostages and Hamas atrocities are pushed out of frame,” the ministry said.
