IS Video Shows Execution of Purported Palestinian Mossad Spy
The Islamic State (IS) released a video showing the execution of Mohammad Said Ismail Musallam, a Palestinian hostage who allegedly confessed to being "an agent for the Israeli Mossad."
The 13 minute, 29 second video, titled, "And Wretched is that which they Purchased," was produced by al-Furqan Media Foundation and distributed on Twitter on March 10, 2015. The video begins by detailing Musallam's credentials and the alleged location of the "Mossad training camp" he allegedly attended. Then, Musallam, wearing an orange jumpsuit, speaks much of the same information alleged in "Interview with a Spy Working for the Israeli Mossad," an article recently featured in the seventh issue of IS's Dabiq magazine.
"As more of these videos come out, it becomes clear that the Islamic State is committed to the same type of futuristic aesthetic," says SITE Director Rita Katz. "The group places their violence inside of a videogame-like context in an attempt to gloss over their pointless brutality to potential recruits."
In the second half of the video, an adult fighter and child stand behind Musallam in an outdoor setting. The adult speaks in French:
O Jews, indeed Allah has gifted us with killing your followers in your own stronghold in France. As for here in the Islamic State, here are the young lions of the Khilafah. They will kill the one sent by the foolish Mossad to spy on the secrets of the mujahideen and the Muslims. An evil apostate spy. Allah has repelled your ploy and you have not achieved anything good. As for the near-term, you will see the legions of the Khilafah pounding your lands and your fortresses. They will liberate Jerusalem from your filth, by Allah's permission. O Jews, indeed the one who handed you Jerusalem said, "The Crusade is over." But today we say to you, the Islamic conquests have begun and the Jews have become frightened because the promise is near.
"It's not surprising to see a French speaker in this video," says Katz. "In recent months, the French division of the Islamic State's media has become especially prevalent, with French suicide bombers and French-speaking fighters calling for Muslims from France to migrate or commit lone wolf attacks. The group even disseminates daily communiques in French."
The fighter also addresses IS supporters:
O supporters of the Islamic State, O grandsons of Muhammad Ibn Maslamah, we've revealed to you some of the names and pictures of the spies in Jerusalem, so make those who recruited them see their blood flow...
Afterward, the child standing next to the fighter executes Musallam by shooting him in the head with a pistol.
"The Islamic State's use of children is their attempt to show their brutality while projecting generations of Islamic State fighters to come," says Katz. "Even though we've seen execution videos by kids, the kid looks directly at Ismail before shooting him. Clearly, the kid has been trained, not to mention brainwashed."
The video ends by listing names, pictures, and other details of alleged Mossad agents.
