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Cape Town - The situation in Gaza has ignited social media as both pro- and anti-Israeli sentiment find their voice on internet platforms.
However, the tone of the debate has been highlighted by the ability of social media commentators to express themselves, says a social media expert.
"Friends are astonished to find that their old Facebook friends have a strong stance on the issue - and it causes 'debate' which often ends up as mudslinging", social media consultant for Afrosocialmedia Samantha Fleming told Fin24.
The fragile truce between Israel and Hamas is holding as fighting between the two abates, and international organisations conduct relief efforts for civilians caught in the latest round of the conflict that began on 8 July.
However, on social media, it appears that emotions are in a continual state of excitement.
South African tone
"Gaza has ignited a particular flame on social media, among pro Israeli and pro Gaza groupings and onlookers too. The Israeli/Palestinian debate is not new, and there are many vested interests which become inflamed on social media, particularly because it's a space where people throw out comments without too much thought", said Fleming.
The debate took on a decidedly South African tone when deputy head boy of King David Victory school, Josh Broomberg, was tagged in a picture on Facebook wearing Palestinian scarves, with commentary that expressed support for human rights to be respected in the war.
There were calls for him to be removed from his position and booted off the SRC at the school, but that was quickly followed by messages of support, including from Ronnie Kasrils, a long-time critic of Israeli military action.
Fleming said that social media debate, even hostile debate doesn't lead to violence, but is an indicator of power dynamics.
"I don't think social media escalates physical hostilities necessarily, but definitely conversational and debate hostilities. Social media becomes a space to play out power dynamics - the case of Josh Broomberg at King David is one of those, where within hours of each other, both sides [calling for his removal, and then calling for him not to be removed] had set up petitions on change.org."
In Gaza itself, teen Farah Baker has achieved popularity for tweeting about the war and its effect on her. Baker's following on Twitter jumped from around 800 to over 194 000 as of Wednesday.
On Facebook, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) posts content to show that it was respectful of human rights during the conflict.
Winners
"Even as Hamas fires from populated areas, we eliminate terror threats while minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza. We go to extraordinary lengths to keep Palestinian civilians away from harm," said one of the posts shared by over 10 000 people on Facebook.
Fleming said South Africans related to the conflict more than pressing issues at home because of the media frenzy created by the war.
"Gaza feels immediate and has such media frenzy that people feel they have a right to have a say. Poverty, Aids, jobs - people suffer from compassion fatigue - these issues are never going away, we can't solve them, we don't even know where to start."
However, Fleming warned that even on social media, there were no winners.
"I don't think you can talk about 'winners' on this issue. I think that's part of the problem - that people are wanting to 'win', instead of find a peaceful resolution."
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