Photos of Israeli Soldiers Standing on Saudi Flag Spread Across the Internet

Photos showing Israeli soldiers holding up the Israeli flag while trampling on the Saudi Arabian flag have ignited widespread anger on social media.

 Most of the users stated that the displayed pictures offended the Islamic faith and demanded Saudi Arabia to act more aggressively against Israel. 

 The explicit images were posted by a man named Tamer on X (formerly Twitter). He found images on two IDs belonging to Israeli military soldiers. MEE has not confirmed the photos as genuine or ascertained their date. Nevertheless, contentious materials of Gaza were shared by the Israeli soldiers, the abuses of the detained Palestinians as mentioned in the video, which legal professionals say can be considered war crimes. 

 Social Media Backlash 

 The post went viral, and many people noted that the advertised Saudi Arabian flag has the Islamic shahada written on it, which consists of the names of God and the Prophet Muhammad. 

 The terrorist Israel has challenged the honour of the entire Muslim Ummah [nation], said one of the users. A council stated, “This is shameful to our brethren in Saudi Arabia and two billion Muslims. 

Calls for Action 

 The video and the photos that came with it sparked debates as to why Saudi Arabia should not continue to sever its ties with Israel. Critics proved that the image ought not to normalise the kingdom. In 2020 and 2021, the state of Israel normalised relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, with the United States as the mediator. Much has been said about a similar arrangement underway with Saudi Arabia, a strategic partner of America. 

 Official Reactions 

 There was a signal from a top Saudi official in early January that Saudi Arabia desires to have friendly relations with Israel once the war on Gaza is over. In February, Riyadh held the position that Israel cannot normalise relations with Arab countries without ceasing fire and moving the process of creating a Palestinian state forward. In May 2013, the news reported that US officials believed the deal was still possible. Meanwhile, Saudi authorities threatened an essential crackdown on its citizens for intending to criticize Israel’s war on Gaza through social media. 

 “If the KSA govt has any dignity left in them they should defend their flag & the disrespect of Kalma Tayyiba or simply remove Kalma Tayyiba from flag,” another user said on Twitter about the Islamic creed written on the flag of the kingdom. 

 Many allegations, such as one associated with the hashtag Saudi Arabia, wrote that the latter might not be a flag and that it looked more like a flag of Hamas, that the picture was photoshopped, or that it was a deepfake of the Saudi Arabia flag to cause outrage against Saudi Arabia. In response, Tamer posted the screenshot and the video from the Instagram profile he said he stole the image from and insisted that the posts were real. 

 It has led to a lot of controversy regarding the aspect of symbols and the general political hate in the world. Despite this, the reaction proves that despite acknowledging that the photos are still questionable, such a sensitive issue reveals the multifaceted Israeli-Arab relations, as well as polarization regarding the conflict in Israel-Palestine.