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Zoological conspiracy theories are conspiracy theories propagated by the Arab media and Arabic language websites alleging use of animals by Israel to attack civilians or to conduct espionage. These conspiracies are reported as evidence of a "Zionist plot." They supposedly reflect the reach of Israeli intelligence and the inability of intelligence organizations in the Muslim world to match it, as well as the Arab tendency to blame Israel for internal problems.

Allegations

In 2011 a Griffon Vulture carrying a satellite tracking device was detained in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of spying. The Israeli ornithologist Yossi Leshem of Tel Aviv University said that this was the third such detention of a bird tracked by Israeli scientists in 3 decades. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, Sudanese authorities detained an Egyptian vulture and a white pelican tracked by Israeli scientists. The birds, wearing a GPS device and a tag with the sign "Tel Aviv University," were captured by local officials. Sudanese authorities refused to return the GPS transmitters.

In December 2010, shark attacks in Egypt were attributed to a shark released by the Mossad.

In January 2011, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested what they described as a "Zionist" vulture.According to the local media, the Griffon vulture, found to have a satellite tracking device commonly used in research, was sent by the Israeli Mossad.

The Palestinian Authority has accused Israel of using wild boars to destroy Arab crops in the West Bank and drive farmers out of their lands.

Shark conspiracy

This conspiracy theory emerged in December 2010 after shark attacks occurred off the South Sinai resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. In an interview on an Egyptian TV program Egypt Today, Captain Mustafa Ismail, introduced as "a famous diver", claimed that no oceanic whitetip sharks lived in the Red Sea off Egypt. When asked how the sharks got there, Ismail responded: "No, it's who let them in?" He described a conversation with an Israeli diver who told him that a oceanic whitetip was captured off Eilat, an Israeli town also on the Red Sea coast, and that it had a GPS navigation device attached to it. Though this is a common method of monitoring shark migrations, Ismail became suspicious and theorised, "the sharks were monitored to attack in Egypt's waters only". He alleged that the GPS tracking device was in fact a "guiding device".

Prompted in a TV interview to comment on the theory, the governor of South Sinai, Mohammad Abdul Fadhil Shousha, was reported to have said that it could not be ruled out: "What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question. But it needs time to confirm." He later directly dismissed the theory.

Describing the theory as "sad", Professor Mahmoud Hanafy, a marine biologist at Suez Canal University, pointed out that GPS devices are used by marine biologists to track sharks, not to remote-control them. Egyptian officials suggested that the attacks were due to overfishing, illegal feeding, the dumping overboard of sheep carcasses, or unusually high water temperatures.

Vulture conspiracy

A griffon vulture with a wingspan of about 8 feet (2.4 m) was seen flying in Saudi Arabia, near the home of a shaikh, near the city of Hayel. When the bird was captured, a GPS device and a "Tel Aviv University" leg tag were discovered on the bird. The authorities were alerted that the vulture was a part of "Zionist plot". The story was first reported in Saudi Arabia's newspaper Al-Weeam, and was later discussed in Arabic websites and other Saudi Arabia media outlets.

According to Riyadh newspaper Harmony the bird with code number "R56" was well trained and resisted the arrest by emitting a large amount of "a foul smell waste out of his mouth".

According to Arab Nyheter news agency "Al Jazeera has reported that Saudi security authorities arrested a suspect bird, who worked for Israeli intelligence (Mossad) and was flying in Saudi airspace to gather information on the country."

Israeli officials described the accusation as "ludicrous" and said they were "stunned" and were concerned that the bird could meet a severe punishment in the Saudi justice system.

A spokesman for Israel's Park and Nature Authority told the Israeli daily Ma'ariv that Israeli scientists are using GPS devices to determine the migration routes of the birds. He explained that, "The device does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird's whereabouts, and about his altitude and speed".

The bird was later released from custody after Saudi wildlife authorities determined that its tracking system was used for scientific purposes.

Rat conspiracy

In 2008, two Palestinian newspapers including official news wire Wafa, reported that rats with supernatural qualities were intentionally released into the Old City of Jerusalem by Jewish settlers in order to "turn the residents' life into a living hell" and to displace the local Arab residents. The Palestinian reports claimed that the rats were immune to poison and were intimidating to cats because of their size and ferocity. The reports alleged that the fertility levels of these rats were four times the average. The Jewish residents were apparently not affected by these rats. The Jerusalem Municipality described the reports as "pure fiction" and Political commentator Joshua Muravchik derided the reports as counter-intuitive as Jews also reside in the Old City.

Pig conspiracy

Arab media have imputed the presence of indigenous wild boars within Israel and the West Bank to a a well-designed Israeli plan to force Palestinian farmers to abandon their land, and have blamed Israel for the pigs' destructive actions. The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of utilising pigs to destroy Arab crops and drive farmers from their lands. Its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel for the training of wild pigs to attack Palestinians. The head of the Kufr Yasouf council stated on PA TV that the Jews brought the pigs to "fight against us" and to "destroy the agriculture". The Gulf News reported that Palestinian farmers' lives were endangered by the release of huge numbers of Israeli wild pigs as part of an Israeli plan and that the Palestinian Veterinary Department did not have the necessary materials to fight the pigs. The mayor of Deir Istiya village accused Israeli settlers of releasing around 300 wild pigs into the farming fields of the village that damaged the crops of the Palestinian farmers. The Palestinian organisation, the International Middle East Media Centre, reported that it was common practice of Israeli settlers to dump wild pigs and other wild animals outside of their fenced settlements onto Palestinian land.Israeli media network Arutz Sheva noted the Israeli efforts to cull the wild boars in areas under its control and that the Nature and Parks Authority has worked to control the pig population. It observed that the alleged pigs' ability to selectively destroy only Arab crops had not been explained, and that Israel was unable to control the pig population in areas under Palestinian Authority control.

Reaction

After media reports of the allegations of animal use emerged, many commentators dismissed them as "paranoid" or claimed the evidence supporting the allegations was "scant". Other commentators used the opportunity to criticize belief in conspiracy theories in the Arab world, which they characterized as a widespread problem.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Secretary-General of the Saudi National Security Council, has criticized the coverage that the vulture incident received in the Saudi media, saying "Some of the Saudi journalists rushed in carrying the news of this bird for the sake of getting a scoop without checking the information...they should have asked the competent authorities about the bird before publishing such news."

See also

• Animal-borne bomb attacks
• Killer badger
• Military dolphin
• Media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict
• Pallywood

References

1. ^ Khaled Abu Toameh (December 14, 2010). "What is Responsible for Miseries of the Arabs?". Hudson New York.
   - Mahmoud Abbas's official news agency, Wafa, reported that Israel had released poison-resistant rats to drive Arab residents of Jerusalem out of their homes.
2. ^ Gil Yaron (January 5, 2011). "Secret agent vulture tale just the latest in animal plots". Toronto: Star-News.
3. ^ Emirates 24/7 staff (January 9, 2011). "Saudis to free Israeli vulture". Emirates 24/7.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. ^ Keith Thomson (January 5, 2011). "Could Vulture Captured in Saudi Arabia Have Been Sent by Mossad?". The Huffington Post.
5. ^ James Hider (January 7, 2011). "Vulture held as Mossad spy by Saudi Arabia". The Australian.
6. Vulture Saudis Nabbed Was Third Israeli Bird Held Since 1975
7. Jackson Diehl (January 5, 2011). "Israel's Spying Vulture – and Killer Shark". Washington Post.
8. Julie Stahl (January 5, 2011). "Saudi Arabia Busts 'Israeli Spy' Vulture". CBN News.
9. ^ Haaretz Service (January 4, 2011). "Saudi Arabia 'nabbed Israeli-tagged vulture for being Mossad spy'". haaretz.
10. ^ "Saudi Arabia 'detains' Israeli vulture for spying". BBC. January 5, 2011.
11. Vulture Saudis Nabbed Was Third Israeli Bird Held Since 1975
12. "Egyptian Diving Instructor: Israel Responsible for Fatal Shark Attack & for Lethal Jellyfish". Youtube. Memri TV. Retrieved 30 Dec 2010.
13. Yasmine Fathi (December 6, 2010). "Expert shoots down conspiracy theory blaming Israel for shark attacks". Ahram.
14. "Shark Attack in Egypt? Must Be the Work of Israeli Agents". Discovery Magazine.
15. "Governor absolves Israel of shark attacks". 20 December 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
16. Yolande Knell (7 December 2010). "Shark attacks not linked to Mossad says Israel". BBC News. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
17. Yasmine Fathi (6 December 2010). "Expert shoots down conspiracy theory blaming Israel for shark attacks". Al Ahram. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
18. "Egypt to reopen beaches after deadly shark attack". Reuters. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
19. محيط – جهان مصطفى (07/01/2011). "نسر "آر56" يكشف لغز القرش المفترس بشرم الشيخ". lahona. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)Template:Ar icon
20. . showthread http://www.asir1.com/as/showthread.php?p=1614094. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)Template:Ar icon
21. "اطلقوا سراح الجاسوس -النسر جوناثان بولارد". arabnyheter. 06/01/2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)Template:Ar icon
22. Alexander Marquardt (January 10, 2011). "Israeli Vulture Spy Declared Innocent By Saudi Arabia". ABC News.
23. ^ Marcus, Itamar. "Genocide: Palestinian Demonization of Jews and the Promotion of Genocide" (PDF). Palestinian Media Watch. p. 10. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
24. Khaled Abu Toameh (07/20/2008). "Palestinians: Israel uses rats against J'lem Arabs". Jerusalem Post. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
25. ^ Joshua Muravchik. "Epistemology to the Muslim World". World Affairs.
26. Yaron, Gil (5 January 2011). "Secret agent plot? Saudi Arabia claims bird working as Israel spy". The Star. Toronto.
27. Nazzal, Nasouh. "Israelis wage a dirty war against Palestinian farmers". Gulf News. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
28. "Abbas: We are going to Security Council to get Membership". WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency. Retrieved 16/9/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
29. "Libel: Jews spread pigs to destroy PA agriculture". Palestinian Media Watch. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
30. Nazzal, Nasouh. "Israelis wage a dirty war against Palestinian farmers". Gulf News. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
31. "3 cars torched, mosque defaced in West Bank". CNN. 4 May 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
32. "Israeli settlers release wild pigs on Palestinian farmland in Salfit". International Middle East Media Centre. Retrieved May 04, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
33. "PA Blames Israel for Wild Boars". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 6/12/2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
34. Bret Stephens (JANUARY 4, 2011). "Egypt's Prison of Hate. You know a country is in trouble when it blames shark attacks on the Mossad". The Wall Street Journal. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Hunter lured Israeli vulture with “dead sheep”
• Video: Israel’s Latest Secret Weapon: The Death-Defying Rodent
• Bewitched Animals and the Muslim Media

• Conspiracy theories involving Israel
• Military animals