Backlash as Israel's Bennett claims Lebanese families house Hezbollah rocket launchers
Israel’s former prime minister, Naftali Bennett, is facing a fierce backlash and accusations of spreading “propaganda” to legitimise attacks on civilians after alleging that Lebanese households are being used to hide rocket launchers for Hezbollah.
"Many Shiites in Lebanon have a unique revenue stream. In their home, they have a special ‘Rocket Launcher Room’. They’re paid monthly rent by Hezbollah to host this launcher and be prepared to shoot rockets at Israel communities on demand,” Naftali Bennett claimed on Monday in a post on X, without providing evidence.
“The IDF [Israeli army] is now systematically destroying these death machines. Anyone man who turns his home into a death launch pad puts his family in severe danger, and only he is responsible for the consequences,” he continued.
Bennett’s post comes as Israel continues its bombing campaign on residential areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, which has killed at least 558 people, including 50 children.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah military assets, but dozens of civilians have been killed in the strikes.
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Tens of thousands of people have also been forced to flee north in search of safety.
Social media users slammed Bennett, accusing him of making false claims in order to justify mass bombardment in Lebanon.
"You’ll fabricate anything to justify the extermination of women and children. Unbelievable," one user said.
By his own logic Bennett is defining Israeli households as 'death machines', since most Israelis have to fight in or have fought with the IDF. Saying this kind of thing is all just human shield propaganda designed to legitimise killing of civilians, it's reprehensible https://t.co/9rcT3oObj9
— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) September 24, 2024
Another user added: "If you fall for these lies or spread them.. then you are to blame for the death of hundreds."
"Many Shiites have a special 'Rocket Launcher Room' in their home" would be one of the funniest libels I've ever heard, if it weren't being spread by a well-known Israeli politician on the eve of an Israeli bombing campaign targeting civilian areas in Lebanon. https://t.co/hJFfhanzvh
— Ariz Kader (@KaderAriz) September 23, 2024
Many compared Bennett's post to false claims made by Israeli officials throughout their assault on the Gaza Strip.
"In Gaza - the world taught the Israeli political elite that any and all violence of theirs, however gruesome/illegal/inhumane will be forgiven, so long as they can string together any argument, however flimsy/fabricated/embarrassing. They are now applying this lesson in Lebanon,” said another X user.
Several users also accused Bennett of trying to stoke sectarianism and incite anti-Shia sentiment.
"The occupation trying to use #sectarianism as part of its strategy in the region is not new," posted one user.
“This is explicit anti-Shi'a incitement designed to justify the mass killing of Shi'a civilians in Lebanon,” posted another.
Attempting to manufacture consent for a genocide of Lebanon's Shia community https://t.co/BJkgPxbQIW
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) September 23, 2024
Over the weekend, an Israeli minister called for the “Shia enemy population” of south Lebanon to be expelled and a buffer zone created on the border.
‘Fake AI is your proof?’
Several minutes after Bennett's post, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz shared an AI-generated image of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah beside a crying girl. The caption read: "Nasrallah is deploying Hezbollah's missiles in the homes of Lebanese citizens, using the civilian population as human shields."
Worse than Russia’s computer game PR. Same genocidal mindset though. https://t.co/Jt84SzDLQL
— kristyan benedict (@KreaseChan) September 23, 2024
Users similarly criticised it as serving to justify Israel’s bombing campaign.
“They're generating AI images and making up cartoons to justify future civilian casualties when they bomb their homes,” said one user.
"Just cos you generated an image of some warped scenario in your genocidal head, doesn’t mean that it’s true," one user commented.
"Fake AI is your proof?" another asked.
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