A Palestinian child was reportedly photographed sleeping next to his parents' grave. The reference therefore goes to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, where this photo is used by pro-Palestinian propaganda. We are talking about propaganda because the same scene was used several years earlier to talk about a Syrian child.
For those in a hurry
- The cliché was used in 2014 to talk about a Syrian child.
- The photo was taken in Saudi Arabia.
- This is an artistic work and the graves are not real.
Analyzes
Here is one of the posts where the photo is shared with the following text accompanied by the Palestinian flag icon:
He sleeps next to his parents' grave
Photo dated and used for Syria
The photo is not recent and does not concern the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Palestine. As we can see in the 2014 post on the National Papaboys Association Facebook page, the photo has been used in the past to refer to a Syrian child, not a Palestinian one:
And unfortunately, this is happening in Syria (according to Projota's Facebook profile)
A child sleeps between his parents' grave in Syria.
There is no cure for this pain.
“Maranatha”, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen!
No Syria, no Palestine, no parents' grave
The photo was taken in Saudi Arabia and it is an artistic photo where the child poses in two fake graves. The photo is the work of photographer Aziz Alotaibi who was interviewed by a Dutch journalist, as reported by Paolo Attivissimo in 2015, to explain the origin of the photo in order to refute false narratives about Syria:
Conclusions
The photo circulating online does not concern Palestine, it does not actually show a child sleeping next to his parents' grave, it is not current and appears to be a complete hoax. It had been used for Syria since at least 2014, when in reality it had been recovered in Saudi Arabia to create an artistic work.
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