MK Ahmad Tibi shared on Twitter a graphic of pictures of dozens of children, claiming that they were Palestinian children killed by IDF bombings. However, among the children was Ido Avigal, who was killed by a rocket fired from Gaza at Sderot during Operation Guardian of the Walls two years ago.
Ido's mother, Shani Avigal, responded to the tweet by asking for her son's photo to be removed. "Hey Ahmed, how are you, hearing? It's all about taking all kinds of children, putting them in one picture and telling the world that the IDF killed them, but is there any way you take my child's picture out of there? I'm pretty sure Hamas murdered him," she wrote, adding: "And they injured my daughter, and my nephews, and me too, but I'm not a girl so be it. Oh yes, they shot at the house."
Tibi later responded to the mother's reaction. "A child is a child is a child, killing children is terrible. Palestinians and Israelis," he wrote. "It still doesn't change the fact that the army has shot and killed hundreds of Palestinian children in recent years. Show empathy for your grief and pain, may there be no more bereaved mothers and families."
Except the times I do. https://t.co/rtqAvRcWmN pic.twitter.com/fvfhbwfEjm
— Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi) September 19, 2023
Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir also responded to the publication, attacking Tibi: "Ahmed Tibi the terrorist - how are you not ashamed to use a picture of a pure Jewish child murdered by your friends from Hamas?" he wrote in a post on his Twitter account. "Shame that you are part of the Israeli Knesset," he added.
Despite the criticisms, the post has not yet been removed. Tibi/official website, Yaniv Nadav, Knesset Spokesperson's Office
The photo was shared following criticism on social media over the past 5 hours about Brothers in Arms who claimed that "if you want pilots to be able to fly and bomb houses knowing they can kill children, pilots have to have the strongest confidence in the people who make these decisions." Journalist Yehuda Schlesinger responded to the remarks this morning, writing that "this morning as well, it is important to repair the damage and remind: the IDF does not bomb homes with children," and in response he tweeted the post under the caption: "Except for the times it does."
Other criticisms were directed against the post, which features <>-year-old Ido, but it has not yet been removed.
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