Israelis are building a new outpost on the lands close to the Samaria city of Ariel. At least, that’s what Palestinian Authority agitator Nazmi Salman warned this week via social media, and in statements to various news outlets.
Israeli settlers take over Palestinian lands in Salfit, erect illegal outpost https://t.co/Wm9HAfbfj4 pic.twitter.com/4A2OWvugpY
— Ma'an News Agency (@MaanNewsAgency) June 7, 2017
Salman reported to Arab news media – beginning with WAFA, the official Palestinian Authority mouthpiece – that Israeli settlers are starting to build a road to connect the nearby Jewish community of Nofim to a new “outpost” allegedly under construction.
Over a two day period, he said, Israelis set up wooden caravans, installed a power line and put up 13 tents. Armed guards blocked anyone from approaching the site.
The Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency even reported, “A group of settlers from Israel’s illegal Nufim (sic) settlement erected an outpost on Tuesday on Palestinian lands in the Khirbet Shihada area in the eastern outskirts of the village of Istiya in the occupied West Bank district of Salfit.”
And so on. There was only one problem with all this. None of it was true.
The whole thing was basically Israeli Hollywood, and Nazmi Salman apparently couldn’t tell the difference between a movie set and reality.
The “action” was actually the temporary set for a feature film starring “Yuval HaMebulbal” (Yuval the Confused), the super TV sensation of Israeli children and toddlers — and their parents — who love his massive confusion.
In fact, “Yuval” – Yuval Shemtov (his real name) — is the kind of draw that attracts literally thousands of Israeli children, toddlers and parents alike at any live appearance, be it a parade, Purim rally or fundraiser.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan confirmed the production, saying, “I believe that after this one, more movies will be filmed here.
“There are many open spaces here with a variety of breathtaking views, and a welcoming population that’s happy to help and participate,” Dagan said.
The full-length feature film for Yuval HaMebulbal, meanwhile, is scheduled for release next summer — when it’s expected that Israeli children and their parents will flood the theaters from one end of the country to the other — making an Arab protest at a Jewish construction site look like mere child’s play.