Model Gigi Hadid issued an apology on social media after being slammed with a wave of backlash over misleading accusations she made against Israel mistreating Palestinian children.
Hadid posted the bizarre claims from a video to her nearly 80 million followers on Instagram.
“Israel is the only country in the world that keeps CHILDREN AS PRISONERS OF WAR,” the story read.
“ABDCUTION, RAPE, HUMILIATION, TORTURE, MURDER, OF PALESTINIANS YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS BEFORE Oct. 7, 2023,” it continued.
The post has since been deleted.
Critics pointed out that the Palestinian used in the story was Ahmed Manasra, a boy who was caught on video along with his cousin stabbing Israelis in 2015 when he was 12 years old. His cousin was shot and killed by police while Manasra was arrested and later convicted of attempted murder.
Hadid posted a lengthy apology Tuesday to the same Instagram account.
“As someone of Palestinian descent, the endless heartbreaking news and imagery coming out of Gaza has been painful and often overwhelming. It is important to me to share real stories about the hardships that Palestinians have endured and continue to endure, but this weekend I shared something that I did not fact-check or deeply think about prior to reposting,” she wrote.
“I wanted to show the ways in which international law is being undermined by the Israeli government,” she continued. “In this case, I was trying to highlight how Palestinian children who are arrested by the IDF are often not given the same rights as an Israeli child accused of the same crime would. Unfortunately, I used the wrong example to make that point and I regret that.”
She went on to criticize Israel but admitted she had made a mistake by posting misinformation.
“I do not stand behind the spreading of misinformation, and have always condemned using the Free Palestine movement as justification for anti-Semitism,” Hadid wrote.
The 28-year-old had previously made headlines in 2016 when she mocked then first lady Melania Trump with a belittling impression of her at an awards ceremony.
Here’s more about the model’s bizarre post:
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