Suha Arafat, widow of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, proposed that Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid should run for Congress in the United States, in a comment on Instagram on Tuesday.
"Bella should be a leader she has to go for elections in the American congress [sic]," said Arafat. "She will excel."
"Thank you, Mrs. Arafat, so much for your kind words," responded Mohamed Hadid, the model's father and a Palestinian-American real estate mogul. "It’s our duty and honor. Bella speaks for all the world's injustice but as well as her culture heritage and her fathers and grandfathers [sic] country and I hope for her kids and grandkids."
Arafat was commenting on an Instagram post by the model's father regarding his daughter's comments on the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in Jenin during a firefight between IDF soldiers and Palestinian gunmen.
The image by Al Jazerra quoted Bella Hadid calling on US President Joe Biden to cease military aid due to the "assassination" of Abu Akleh.
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"If an American-Ukrainian journalist gets killed by a Russian Defence Force, they should have the Russians investigate such a killing," said Hadid's father. "The facts are and everyone knows [sic]."
The ongoing investigation of Abu Akleh's death has been stalled, with Israel asking for a joint inquiry with the Palestinian Authority, and the PA suggesting it will instead act through the International Criminal Court.
Much of the Hadid family has been outspoken about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with some controversy.
On Sunday, Mohamed Hadid stated in a now-deleted post that "The Zionists have the world under their control, unfortunately. They even want to kill the the [sic] journalists and buy the outlets...The New York Times and others."