The Palestinian Authority has attempted to implicate Israelis in the desecration of the ancient Samaria National Park, near Nablus, by spray-painting graffiti in Hebrew, such as "Only Hamas".
The graffiti were sprayed on stones and towers from the Herodian period, apparently in an attempt to implicate the Jews while damaging a historical archaeological site of great importance.
The accusation was spread in Arabic groups on social media, where videos and photos of the graffiti were shared alongside accusations against Israel.
Some users attempted to link the vandalism to the hostages with the use of an Israeli ad featuring many faces, but a check revealed that it was an ad for the Israeli Construction Center Convention in Eilat, and not a publication related to the hostages.
The graphologist Shmuel Brandwine, with extensive experience in deciphering handwriting and detecting forgeries, is of the opinion that the inscriptions were written by a person who does not speak Hebrew as a native tongue.
In his opinion, Brandwine noted that the graphic structure of the letters was fundamentally flawed, including improper design of the letters and the use of angles and shapes that are not characteristic of Hebrew writing. In addition, the drawing of the Magen David on the site was done in an asymmetrical manner and without a basic understanding of the structure of the symbol. Brandwin emphasized: "There is a high probability that the writer was not a Hebrew speaker and the draftsman was not a Jew.''
Samaria governor Yossi Dagan denounced the incident: "This is a very serious incident – both an anti-Semitic framing and an attack on an archaeological site that is a landmark in Jewish and world heritage. The Palestinian Authority continues its struggle against Jewish history through false allegations and deliberate destruction of historical sites. We demand that the government act with determination against them and strengthen our hold on ancient Samaria, which is the heart of the Jewish people's heritage."
Moshe Gutman, chairman of the Coalition for the Preservation of Antiquities, added: "The desecration of the archaeological site by the Palestinians together with a transparent and fake attempt to frame Israelis is an escalation in the Palestinian struggle against Israel. This is an attack on our heritage. A determined action is required to protect the site and prevent further destruction."