Gigi Hadid Issues Statement After Sharing Controversial Israel-Palestine Post

Gigi Hadid is issuing a statement.

On Saturday (November 25), the 28-year-old model shared a since-deleted infographic post on her Instagram, resulting in some backlash.

The post called out Israel, saying that it was “the only country in the world that keeps CHILDREN AS PRISONERS OF WAR.”

The infographic mentioned a young man named Ahmed Almanasra, claiming he was “abducted by the #Israeli occupation at the age of 12″ and had been kept in solitary confinement and poorly treated since 2015. However, Ahmed was actually arrested after stabbing people in Jerusalem and admitted he was hoping to injure Jewish people.

”As someone of Palestinian descent, the endless heartbreaking news and imagery coming out of Gaza has been painful and often overwhelming. It is important to me to share real stories about the hardships that Palestinians have endured and continue to endure, but this weekend I shared something that I did not fact check or deeply think about prior to reposting,” Gigi began in a new statement on Tuesday (November 28).

Keep reading to find out more…

“I wanted to show the ways in which international law is being undermined by the Israeli government. In this case, I was trying to highlight how Palestinian children who are arrested by the IDF are often not given the same rights as an Israeli child accused of the same crime would. Unfortunately, I used the wrong example to make that point and I regret that,” she continued.

“My focus was intended to be on human rights issues. That is why I also want to reiterate that attacking any human, which of course includes Jewish people, is NEVER OK. Taking innocent people hostage is NEVER OK. Harming someone BECAUSE they are Jewish is NEVER OK. It is wrong. To want freedom and humane treatment for Palestinians and to also want safety for Jewish people can both be important to the same person – including myself,” she went on to say.

“No matter the crime, when speaking about democracy, everyone should have the same rights – and a Palestinian child, even if he is accused of a horrific crime, deserves the same rights that an Israeli child would have under the same circumstances,” Gigi wrote.

“It is well documented, by credible human rights organizations, that there has been systemic mistreatment of the Palestinian people by the government of Israel. I know these historical issues well because they are the history of my own family, Palestinians who were forced to flee their homeland in the late 1940s. At the same time, I understand that with the power of my platform comes a huge responsibility. I’m human and I make mistakes. But I also hold myself accountable for those mistakes,” she said.

“I do not stand behind the spreading of misinformation, and have always condemned using the Free Palestine movement as justification for anti-Semitism. I owe it to myself and my followers to gather my thoughts and share them in a more constructive way as I pursue my goal of bringing attention to violations of international law and human rights. Meanwhile, I will continue to pray for the safe return of all hostages and peace and safety for the people of Gaza and Israel.”

Find out more about the post that caused controversy, and which stars called her out.