Claim: A social media image shows worshippers with their hands cuffed behind their backs and laying the ground after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Fact: The claim is misleading as the image is not from 2023, but from 2022 when Israeli forces attacked people in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during Ramazan.
On 5 April 2023, a Twitter user posted an image with the caption, “The Israeli occupation forces brutally beating Palestinians and worshipers inside Al-Qibli mosque at Al Aqsa. Ya Allah Reham please remember Palestine people in your prayers.”
The picture that shows worshippers with their hands cuffed behind their backs and lying on the ground in the Mosque hall went viral after Israeli forces attacked worshipers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. According to Al-Jazeera, Israeli police assaulted people with stun grenades and arrested worshippers inside the mosque, injuring over 200 people and arrested 300 in the month of Ramzan.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse image search on the image. The result showed that it was first published in a Danish news report on 29 April 2022. The Danish language headline translated into English reads, “Israel has attacked Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque throughout Ramazan.”
The same image is featured in the news report with the caption “On April 22, numerous Palestinians were tied behind and laid on the floor of the holy al-Aqsa Mosque.”
A further search with relevant keywords turned up the same image posted by a verified account on 22 April 2022.
Virality
The image with a misleading claim was posted by the media outlet Daily Mail UK.
On Facebook, the image can be seen here.It was also posted here, and here on Twitter.
Conclusion: The image showing worshipers’ hands tied behind their backs is not from the recent attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque. The image is from 2022, when Israeli forces arrested and attacked Palestinians.