Bella Hadid, a Palestinian-American supermodel, claims that everytime she publishes something concerning Palestine on Instagram, she is silenced.
“My Instagram has prohibited me from publishing on my story,” she explained. “I’m going to presume it’s only when it’s Palestine-related.”
“When I post about Palestine, I am shadow banned right away, and roughly a million less people see my stories and posts,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
According to the magazine, being shadow banned implies that your exposure on a particular social media network has been limited, and only you and your direct followers may view your postings.
Tensions have risen throughout the Palestinian territories since Israeli soldiers attacked the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard on Friday, wounding hundreds of worshippers.
On Sunday, there were even more than 700 Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under heavy police protection to celebrate the week-long Jewish Passover holiday, which started on Friday.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.