A Palestinian-American man from Tampa, Florida, was killed near the Jewish community of Ateret in Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank) this month, prompting yet another round of sympathetic coverage in U.S. media outlets. News reports described him as a “beloved businessman,” the owner of an ice cream parlor, a harmless young man who liked comedy and beaches. What they did not report, however, is far more telling — and more damning.

Let’s start with the so-called ice cream business.

The victim has been widely described as the owner of “Ice Screamin,” a supposed dessert shop. But a check of business records shows otherwise. There are two other individuals tied to the business. Only one of them, Ibrahim Mujahid, appears to have a meaningful entrepreneurial history. Mujahid previously operated Rani Express, a transportation and warehousing company in Georgia that is now defunct. He also operates Caring Angels, a home care service in Minnesota that is still in business.

That’s the real owner of “Ice Screamin.” Not the man killed in Judea and Samaria. Which explains why every news profile has skipped the usual “humble beginnings to business success” narrative. There’s no inspiring small business story. The man in question was no upstanding, hardworking American entrepreneur.

It gets worse.

Nearly every outlet has failed to report that the incident took place in Ateret, a Jewish “settlement.” This is true—and completely ignored also is the fact that Ateret has existed since 1981, long before the victim was even born. Yet the press claims that this man was killed while he was “defending his land.” But where is this land? Did this Palestinian own land within the Jewish settlement? Is there a deed? Proof of purchase? Coordinates? Or are we once again expected to accept such claims on faith, simply because they come wrapped in keffiyeh-colored pathos?

This incident is being used precisely as Hamas intended: to paint every defensive Israeli action as an unjustified killing, and every Palestinian casualty as a peaceful victim of “settler violence.” It’s media theater — an information operation dressed up as local tragedy. Hamas, or those working in tandem with it, have perfected this script.

And of course, the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)  has predictably leaped to the microphone. CAIR has made a public show of outrage over the death of an American citizen. But let’s be clear: CAIR has shown no comparable concern for the Americans who are currently being held hostage by Hamas. No press conferences. No letter-writing campaigns. No breathless appearances on CNN. Evidently, not all American lives are worth the same level of outrage — at least not when it’s Hamas doing the killing.

That’s what this story is — a Hamas narrative dressed in the language of American civil rights and entrepreneurship. And the Western media, as always, plays along.

Don’t be fooled.

AUTHOR

Larry Estavan

RELATED ARTICLES:

JIHAD IN AMERICA: Senator Ted Cruz Introduces Legislation to Designate Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization

Did Israeli ‘Settlers’ at Sinjil Really ‘Brutally Beat a Palestinian to Death’? 

Over 350 Muslim Religious Leaders Endorse Oct. 7 Massacres

Syria’ Kaleidoscope of Death

Iran, Israel, the Jinn, and Other ‘Occult Forces’

India Delhi High Court Stays Release of Film About a Jihad Murder After Muslim Groups Complain

Jihadist Movements in Turkey: Evolution, Threats, and Responses

Syria: Israel vows to protect Druze communities in violent outbreak with Bedouins

EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.