Israel’s recent attempt to eliminate Mohamed Shabana, a Hamas commander of the Rafah brigade, was marred by a significant error when its security agency mistakenly used a photograph of prominent Egyptian sports journalist Mohamed Shabana on their hit-list instead. The Israeli Security Agency (Shabak) created and distributed a poster featuring several Hamas members with their names and faces. The poster, which is designed to look like a deck of cards with each member as a card, was aimed at informing IDF soldiers about prominent targets. Shabana, who is also a former member of the Egyptian Parliament, now intends to sue Israel for libel and defamation. The mix-up, initially spotted by Egyptian media on 24 May, garnered widespread ridicule in Arab media and on social media – including Shabana himself. During a live interview with talk show host Amr Adib, Shabana criticised Shabak’s lack of professionalism and attentiveness. “I first thought it was a joke or prank because you would assume a security agency would certainly not confuse you, but they could not even conduct a standard Google search,” Shabana told Adib. The sports journalist also noted that while he found…
Israeli Intelligence Mistakes Egyptian Journalist for Hamas Leader
May 26, 2024
