A Palestinian-run pizzeria that posted a social media advertisement depicting an elderly grandmother and Holocaust survivor taken hostage by Hamas terrorists has been razed to the ground by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The restaurant, located in the Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank, published a photo of the elderly woman making a ‘V’ sign, the universal symbol for peace.
The photo was one she was reportedly forced to take by her Hamas captors, according to the Israeli news site, Walla.
The unsavory stunt sparked mass indignation among the Israeli public, prompting many citizens to head to the pizzeria and demand it be destroyed.
Yossi Dagan, the leader of the Shomron Regional Council in the northern portion of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, called for the IDF to “immediately destroy the pizzeria owned by Nazi filth in Huwara.”
“Whoever publishes a post that mocks a Holocaust survivor who is held captive in the most difficult place is inhumane, is a Nazi and a scumbag of the worst kind. The State of Israel needs to maintain its integrity and immediately destroy the place that encourages harm in the most horrific way to the citizens of the State of Israel. This is a minimum of preservation for the national honor,” Dagan added.
Within a matter of hours of the offending post being published, IDF troops arrived at the establishment equipped with a bulldozer and destroyed the premises. The owner of the pizzeria was subsequently arrested.
Israeli news outlets reported on Friday that the decision to destroy the building was taken in collaboration with senior government officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Footage of the demolition has since circulated on social media.
A Pizzeria within the Palestinian Town of Huwara in the West Bank thought it would be Funny to create a Pizza Ad using the Image of a Israeli Holocaust Survivor who was Captured by Hamas during the recent Surprise Attack and is currently being Held as a Hostage in Gaza; the IDF… pic.twitter.com/OHNiuzoJ29
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 12, 2023Following its destruction, the pizzeria issued an apology via its social media accounts expressing its regret for the offending advert.
“We are very sorry for the picture that appeared. We are against harming people and women – and only want to earn a living with dignity and live in peace with everyone. We are very sorry to the members of the family that were hurt and the other people who were hurt,” it wrote.
Israel has issued an unprecedented response to the terror attack described by its government as the country’s 9/11 following Hamas’ invasion from Gaza over the weekend.
Netanyahu’s administration has choked the Gaza Strip by shutting off the water and electricity supply, and has conducted several air strikes on the Hamas-occupied territory resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths.
