Both the Palestinians and the Israelis are guilty of spreading lies about supposed war-crimes, it has been confirmed.
The blogosphere was in uproar yesterday after a video emerged purporting to show the aftermath of a missile attack on a Gazan marketplace - but the footage has since been dated back to 2005.
Meanwhile, Israel has also come in for criticism after questions were raised about the authenticity of a video it released that claimed to show an airstrike on Hamas militants preparing missile attacks.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) released the controversial footage on December 29 via its new YouTube page. Its headline read: "The Israel Air Force attacked a Hamas truck carrying dozens of Grad rockets."
But two human rights groups have since come forward with evidence that the video in fact shows an innocent Palestinian workshop owner loading oxygen tanks - and not missiles - onto his pickup truck.
According to B'tselem and the Mezan Centre for Human Rights, the footage is of 55-year-old Jabaliya resident Ahmed Samur, who was attempting to move his welding equipment after he heard reports of nearby looting.
Alluding to the victims of the strike, Mr Samur told Ha'aretz: "These were not Hamas … You have experts and smart people in Israel. They should come and check my truck and the oxygen balloons. They should see that they were not Grad missiles and they were not anything else."
Ironically, the report emerged just as chilling camera-phone footage surfaced on Palestinian-run blogs, allegedly showing the aftermath of an Israeli missile strike on a heavily populated Gazan marketplace.
After storming to the number one spot on popular news-sharing website Reddit, it has now been revealed that the video in fact dates back to 2005, when a truck carrying rockets detonated accidentally during a Hamas rally.
Detailed evidence confirming that the video is a hoax is available at uruknet.info, while the original BBC report documenting the accident - which left 15 people dead and was blamed on Hamas - is also accessible online.
The compelling footage inflamed opinion across the blogosphere and was quickly picked up by several news websites, including RawStory.com and, regrettably, riverScrap.com. Like many other bloggers, I was duped - and I apologise unconditionally.
Analysts say that propaganda has long been a staple feature of the Middle East conflict, with both sides resorting to disingenuous mudslinging whilst vying for public support on the domestic and international stages.
Unfortunately, the ultimate victims of disinformation are ordinary civilians - Palestinians and Israelis - whose plight is callously brushed aside as the dastardly battle to win hearts and minds rumbles on at any cost.
Image © Lynne Lancaster
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