From the Daily alert, news that mainstream arab news media claim the forest fires in northern Israel are God's wrath; and reports that many in Egypt have claimed the shark attacks in Gaza were part of a Mossad plot.
- Hamas Leader: Allah Is Scourging Israelis with Fire
The fires ravaging northern Israel are God's expression of anger towards Israelis, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told Reuters on Sunday. "These are plagues from God," said Haniyeh. "Allah is punishing them." (Jerusalem Post)
See also Arabs Rejoiced over Israeli Forest Fire - Khaled Abu Toameh
It is sad and abhorrent to see how many Arabs rejoiced over the big forest fire in northern Israel, calling it a "divine punishment" for Israelis and wishing that the blaze would spread to destroy all Jews. The messages of hate are the result of decades of incitement against Israel and Jews in the Arab media and mosques throughout the Arab and Islamic world. The comments serve as a reminder that many people in the Arab and Islamic countries still have not come to terms with Israel's right to exist.
What is troubling is that these repugnant comments were posted on Web sites of major Arab media outlets that are not necessarily associated with radical Islam. Al-Arabiya and Asharq Al-Awsat are owned by members of the Saudi royal family which has been frequently targeted by Muslim fundamentalist groups like al-Qaeda. (Hudson Institute-New York)- Egyptian Expert Shoots Down Conspiracy Theory Blaming Israel for Shark Attacks - Yasmine Fathi
Mahmoud Hanafy, a professor of marine biology at the Suez Canal University, said it is "sad" that Egyptian national TV helped perpetuate the theory that last week's shark attacks at Sharm el-Sheikh were part of an Israeli conspiracy. On Sunday, Gen. Abdel-Fadeel Shosha, the governor of South Sinai, phoned a TV program to say that it is possible that Israeli intelligence was behind the incidents.
Hanafy said the Oceanic White Tip shark, blamed for the attacks, does indeed exist in Egypt's waters. He added, "It is sad that they made a person whose only knowledge of sharks comes from the movie "Jaws" go on national TV to propagate this mumbo-jumbo." (Al-Ahram-Egypt)
I can imagine that some of our local conspiracy theorists would believe the sharks were trained by Mossad.