CLAIM: Video shows protesters burning down Israeli embassy in Bahrain
An Instagram video from Oct. 19 (direct link, archived link) shows a group of people throwing petrol bombs at a building and setting parts of it on fire.
The post’s caption reads: “The Israeli embassy in Bahrain was just set on fire by Islamic terrorists who threw a petrol bomb at the embassy.”
The post received more than 3,000 likes in four days. Similar claims were also shared on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
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Our rating: False
This video, taken in 2012, shows protesters storming a police station in Bahrain. It has nothing to do with the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war.
Video shows attack on police station in 2012
According to the Associated Press, thousands of people from Islamic countries including Jordan and Egypt held pro-Palestinian demonstrations on October 20, demanding an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza and airstrikes.
Pro-Palestinian protests are also taking place in Bahrain, but no such demonstrations are visible in the Instagram videos.
A longer version of the video was shared on YouTube on December 30, 2012, and the Arabic title translates to “Bahrain: Police station surrounded and burnt down – Sitra”, according to Google Translate.
A photo of the burning building was shared on Facebook a month earlier, on November 6, 2012, with a caption about the attack on a Bahraini police station.
United Press International reports that on November 5, 2012, around 60 young people were killed in several towns in Bahrain after the Bahraini government banned gatherings and public gatherings in an effort to curb street violence. It was reported that property damage was caused. According to reports, the Citra Police Station was hit by a petrol bomb that night.
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The image of the police station on Google Maps matches the building shown in the Facebook video.
USA TODAY reached out to the Israeli embassy in Bahrain and the user who shared the post for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters, AFP, Associated Press and Lead Stories also debunked this claim.
Our fact-checking sources:
- RevolutionBahrain (YouTube), December 30, 2012.
- United Press International, November 5, 2012 Street violence hits Bahrain town
- Google Maps, October 2017, Sitra Police Station, Bahrain
- “Occupy Bahrain”, November 6, 2012, Facebook post
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