The Minister of the Interior confirmed that he wanted to act against video games Fursan al-Aqsawhose recent update, in November, offers a reproduction of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli territory, which resulted in the death of 1,200 people. The offense of advocating terrorism was initiated.
How long does the video game Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque will it still be accessible in France? Perhaps it is a matter of hours or days from now on: in fact, the French authorities have initiated the first legal and administrative proceedings against the title, still available on Steam on December 4.
This is what Bruno Retailleau, the Minister of the Interior, revealed in a response sent on December 3 to far-right deputy Antoine Villedieu, at the National Assembly. The question was initially addressed to the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, who happened to be traveling in Saudi Arabia at the time.
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« Having watched a certain number of sequences from this game, there is no doubt in my mind that it advocates terrorism. », declared Bruno Retailleau. “ We see the players taking the place of Hamas terrorists, references to the October 7 massacre, their targets which are also all designated, who are civilians, and we see very, very clearly which civilians they are. »
Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque presents itself as a first-person shooter (FPS) mixing some sequences with third-person life (TPS). It launched on Steam before the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of just under 1,200 civilians and the capture of 250 hostages.
Disputed update
It was in fact on April 18, 2022 that the title appeared on Steam. It has since received various updates, including one on November 11, 2024 called “ Fursan al-Aqsa Remake – Operation Toofan al-Aqsa Update “. It is this precise addition which is at the origin of the controversy, and has already resulted in the banning of the title in the United Kingdom.
« Operation al-Aqsa Flood allows you to relive the iconic day when the courageous Palestinian resistance humiliated Israeli military forces. I won’t reveal too much about this mission, I prefer to let you discover it for yourself ”, reads the patch notes, alongside the addition of 5 Steam achievements.
Based in Brazil, the Nidal Nijm Games studio actually only has one individual in its ranks. This contests any apology for terrorism and instead highlights themes of Palestinian resilience and resistance against Israel. The game also displays a reminder on the Steam page, indicating:
« This game does not promote terrorism, anti-Semitism, hatred against Jews or any other group. This is a message of protest against the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian lands. Fursan al-Aqsa is a game about war, like many other games on Steam (Six Days in Fallujah, Call of Duty and others). »
It is also argued that “ All characters, art and plots depicted in this game are purely fictional » and that « Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. “. Although inspired by real events, “the plot of this game is a fictional story”, we still read. And finally, the studio ensures that civilians are never shot.
Ban on the horizon
Visibly insufficient precautions. In addition to the United Kingdom, other countries such as Germany and Australia have also taken measures to prevent access to the game. France is also taking the path, in view of the intervention of the Minister of Interior. This is what he confirmed to the National Rally parliamentarian.
« Our ministries [l’Intérieur et la Culture, NDLR] have taken several steps: a step to report this game to the Pharos platform, but also to report to the judicial authority […] this game based on the offense of glorifying terrorism », declared Bruno Retailleau. The aim is to make this game inaccessible in France.
Pharos (Platform for Harmonization, Analysis, Cross-checking and Orientation of Reports) is a platform set up by the Ministry of the Interior to allow the public to report content and behavior considered illegal on the Internet to the authorities. . This includes the glorification of terrorism.
Reporting to Pharos could then lead the platform to directly contact Valve, the American company that publishes Steam, to ask it at the very least to prevent Internet users from France from being able to access the page of Fursan al-Aqsa — like what has been done for other countries.
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