Argentine president Javier Milei’s visit to Israel was widely covered in Arabic-speaking outlets, with many pointing to the fact that he arrived at Ben Gurion Airport aboard an Israeli El Al airplane and commenters denouncing his pledge to move his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to the capital Jerusalem.
Hamas wrote in an official statement,” we strongly condemn and denounce the announcement by the President of Argentina of his intention to transfer his country’s embassy to the Nazi-Zionist entity to occupied Jerusalem, and we consider it an infringement on the rights of our Palestinian people to their land, and a violation of the rules of international law considering Jerusalem an occupied Palestinian land.”
The terror group also called on Milei to “rescind this unjust and wrong decision, which places Argentina as a partner to the Zionist occupier.”
No comment from the Palestinian Authority
Interestingly, no comment from the side of the Palestinian Authority has been made so far. Rather, a short tweet by Abed Al-Fatah Dolah, spokesperson of Fatah, was published regarding Milei’s plan to move the embassy as “an assault on international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, and a denial of the rights of the Palestinian people to sovereignty and the status that Jerusalem constitutes as the capital of a state Palestine.”
Many posts referred to Milei’s fondness of Judaism, uploading pictures of the Argentinian president with a kippah. Others emphasized Milei’s alleged complicity with Israel’s wrongdoings, including London-based Rai Alyoum newspaper owned by Palestinian-British Hamas sympathizer Abdel Bari Atwan, which reported that the move came on the grounds of “support of Israel’s crimes.”
Some commenters referred to the historical Jewish colonies set up in Argentina starting in the late 1890s, sometimes with historical inaccuracies. One Algerian commenter wrote: “Argentina is a good and suitable alternative homeland for the Jewish Zionists, given that their cause was created there at its beginnings by Theodor Herzl.”
Likewise, former Algerian minister Azzedine Mihoubi tweeted with rage: “Amazing! The populist president of Argentina found no country in the world worthy of his first visit other than an outcast, racist, terrorist entity accused of committing genocide in Gaza! …He had not heard of China, Japan, or South Africa, and chose a monster entity to announce that it would move its embassy to Jerusalem! No wonder…even Argentina was a candidate to become Israel!”
Several comments included wild conspiracy theories. One commenter claimed that “The Jews are preparing many people like this lunatic to gain power in many countries of the world.” While another one from Egypt wrote: “When we said that the President of Argentina was Israel’s candidate, people were upset with us. Israel still has rulers on all continents who are subordinate to it and to America… Some of them plot against Arabs and Muslims by moving the Argentine embassy to occupied Jerusalem,” also concluding: “Israel is cancer and there is no solution for them other than a surgical solution (amputation)”
Some users were more enthusiastic, calling to mobilize Arabs against Argentina. Algerian blogger wondered: “If (Arab) normalizers transfer everything to Israel, why should we blame the President of Argentina for moving his country’s embassy to Jerusalem?” Likewise, a Yemeni user called on Arab and Islamic nations to protest against Argentinian embassies and call for their expulsion, while a Qatari user pondered if there would now be Arab calls for boycotting Argentina. One Egyptian user even uploaded a picture showing people lighting an Argentinian flag on fire, cursing at Argentina’s mother.
The movie was also met with instances of parody and irony. A parody account targeting Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas uploaded a photo of famed Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi, adding: “Argentina will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem… Cursed be anyone who supports Argentina or Messi! You should be fans of (Israeli national security minister, Itamar) Ben Gvir, it’s better for you guys.”
Similarly, a Jordanian commenter wrote: “In response to the Argentinian President’s moving his country’s embassy to Jerusalem: Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Messi!”