Has Israeli Prime Minister issued arrest warrant for Banksy? Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

The protests between Gaza and Israel have spurred an old Internet hoax back into recirculation, that claims Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an international arrest warrant on graffiti artist Banksy.

The article actually first surfaced in 2016 on the website WorldNewsDailyReport.com which included an image of the Israeli PM standing in front of graffiti showing two Jewish men kissing, and claimed Netanyahu issued the arrest warrant after Banksy added graffiti to the Western Wall. The article reads in part –

ISRAELI PM CONDEMNS LATEST BANKSY GRAFFITI ART AS ANTISEMITIC, ISSUES INTERNATIONAL ARREST WARRANT
Tel Aviv | An international arrest warrant has been issued on the famous graffiti artist Banksy for his latest graffiti on the Western Wall.
The graffiti done on one of the holiest sites in Judaism has shocked the Jewish community worldwide and has been declared a “hateful and antisemitic piece of garbage” by the Prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The controversial artist and political activist that has recently traveled to Gaza, to show support for the Palestinian cause, has now infuriated the Jewish community worldwide by his “blasphemous attack on Jewish culture” told Prime minister Netanyahu to reporters.
An Israeli judge has issued an international arrest warrant hours after the piece of vandalism was discovered on a segment of the walls surrounding the area of the Temple Mount (Har Habayit), which is the holiest site in Judaism and is the place to which Jews turn during prayer.

It is nonsense, of course. While Banksy had done a tour in Israel, no complaints had been lodged or arrest warrants issued by the Israeli Prime Minister. Amongst Banksy’s work in Israel and Gaza was a mural of a kitten, a swinging fairground ride and a spoof holiday advert.

However the image of two Jewish men kissing, as seen in the WorldNewsDailyReport.com article has been digitally altered. While the graffiti is very much real, is actually dates back to 2006 and the first recording of the image shows it was from Jerusalem, not Gaza or Israel, and the image of Benjamin Netanyahu had been digitally imposed next to it.


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WorldNewsDailyReport.com is a long running spoof news website, and nothing it publishes is serious, though the intention it to trick more naïve Internet users into believing the stories are real. World News Daily Report has a disclaimer on their website that reads in part –

WNDR assumes however all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website – even those based on real people – are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any persons, living, dead, or undead is purely a miracle.

As such, the story is fake and should not be circulated as genuine.

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