BY ILDA HOXHA
The Israeli embassy in Bahrain was not attacked with Molotov cocktails, as claimed in articles distributed in the media in Albania. Faktoje verified that the images belong to November 2012 and are not related to current developments in the Middle East.
In an article dated October 20, the online media in Albania claim that the Israeli embassy in Bahrain was attacked with Molotov cocktails, publishing a video about this event.
“ Molotov cocktail attack on the Israeli embassy in Bahrain, Israel withdraws diplomats from the Middle East ” – writes ” Abc News”.
News published by ‘Abc News’
This video shows a building on fire at night, while outside its premises a group of people can be seen continuously attacking with gasoline bottles lit on fire. We decided to do a verification of the circulating footage, first using the photo verification tools.
Referring to the results, it turns out that in fact this video has been published on YouTube since December 30, 2012 and has nothing to do with the current military escalation in the Middle East.
According to the Arabic title and caption accompanying the original video, it is about the attack of some demonstrators with Molotov cocktails on a police station, which happened on November 3, 2012 in Sitrah, a city in the north-east of Bahrain. According to the information on this page, the attack happened after the news spread that Hassan Mushaima’s health had deteriorated. Mushaima is the leader of an opposition party in Bahrain , sentenced to life imprisonment for his participation in the 2011 protests in the country, which erupted in the wake of the so-called ‘ Arab Spring’ .
The news about the attack on the police station in Sitrah was also reported at the time by United Press International (UPI), an American news agency.
In addition, there is no evidence in the local and international media of an attack on the Israeli embassy in Bahrain. On October 16, 2023, the official website of the embassy , located in Manama, the country’s capital, published a statement saying that for security reasons consular service would be suspended until further notice.
These claims have also been verified by foreign media colleagues, who reported that the Israeli embassy in Bahrain was not attacked with Molotov cocktails.
