This Video Does Not Belong to an Armed Saudi Group
The Claim
⚡️ Islamic Resistance in Al-Haramain: we launched two drones toward a vital site in the occupied territories.
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A video went viral on X claiming to show an alleged resistance group in Saudi Arabia starting its operations against Israel.
The 15-second video shows a drone being launched with the logo of the alleged armed group overlaid on the video.
Some users shared a statement allegedly from the Saudi group claiming that the group had just launched its first operation targeting a vital location in Occupied Palestine on Friday.
The statement further contained a confirmation from the alleged group on the will of the group to continue its operations until the war on Gaza and Lebanon stops.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral video and found it to be misleading. The video is fabricated and does not belong to an armed Saudi group.
There is no organized group bearing the name “The Islamic Resistance in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques.”
Outdated Video of a Joint Operation by Iraq’s Islamic Resistance and Yemen’s Armed Forces
Misbar analyzed the viral video and found that it did not originally belong to a Saudi armed group.
Using frames of the video, Misbar’s team identified a similar video published last July, showing a joint operation between the armed groups in Iraq and Yemen.
Upon comparing frames of the viral video with the one uploaded in July, Misbar’s team noticed that the two videos are similar, but the viral one is blurred and inverted.
When flipping frames of the viral one and comparing it with a shot of the video uploaded in July, it becomes clear that the two videos are identical.
To mislead the viewer, the logo of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which could be seen in the original video, was removed and replaced with another logo of the supposed Saudi-based armed group.
An intro was added to the original video after blurring adding a sense of authenticity to the alleged group and operation to further mislead the viewer. The intro reads, “Scenes of the Islamic Resistance in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques launching drones toward a vital location in the Occupied Land.”
Despite these changes, the two videos can be clearly seen as identical when flipping frames from the viral video.
Contradictory Accounts Regarding The Houthis' Attack on Olivia Tanker
Last July, the Houthis uploaded the video in question claiming that they joined forces with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq to attack the Cyprus-flagged Olivia tanker in the Mediterranean.
However, the ship's owner denied such an incident to Reuters.
The maritime security sources also refuted the claim saying that no vessel had been hit in those waters by the Houthis group.
Anthony Madella, director of the Cyprus' shipping ministry, also said no incident occurred.
Saudi Arabia Wants the Two-State Solution
Last September, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the kingdom wants a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.
The Israeli war on Gaza made Saudi Arabia stop the U.S. attempts for the kingdom to normalize ties with Israel, which was about to succeed just some weeks before October 7.
The kingdom is not trying to push for a two-state solution as it has formed a global alliance to push it. Saudi officials see that implementing the two-state solution is the best way to break the cycle of war and suffering.
According to the country’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, the two-state solution would enforce a new reality in the entire region, where Israel will enjoy security and co-existence.
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