“Miss Israel Says Palestinian Contestant’s Alleged Terror Links Triggered Viral Side-Eye Moment”

Miss Israel has urged the Miss Universe organisation to disqualify Miss Palestine from the competition’s Top 30 list after reports surfaced claiming.

the Palestinian contestant is married to the son of Marwan Barghouti — a senior Fatah leader viewed by supporters as a symbol of Palestinian resistance but labelled a terrorist by the Israeli government.

Melanie Shiraz, 27, said learning of Nadeen Ayoub’s family connection left her “uncomfortable”, alleging “terror links” and insisting the pageant must uphold its code of conduct. Ayoub is the first contestant ever to represent “Miss Palestine” at Miss Universe.

Marwan Barghouti, a key Palestinian political figure from Ramallah’s outskirts, rose to prominence during the Second Intifada and publicly supported a two-state solution. In 2004, he was convicted by an Israeli court of organising attacks that killed civilians and was sentenced to five life terms plus 40 years. Barghouti refused to recognise the court’s authority, declined to present a defence and maintains that the trial was politically motivated and illegitimate.

“Miss Universe should not condone fraud, code violations or terror links,” Shiraz said, adding that she expects the organisation to review the matter.

The Israeli contestant said she does not wish to “play moral CEO” for Miss Universe but believes the organisation must address the controversy on its own. She also said she has received death threats after a viral video showed her appearing to give Ayoub a side-eye on stage.

“It makes my skin crawl thinking we were in the same room so many times,” she said. “It’s shocking that we shared a stage with someone connected to serious terror allegations.”

Shiraz denied deliberately giving Ayoub a side-eye, saying she was simply glancing toward other contestants entering the stage. “Dramatising normal moments and misrepresenting people doesn’t promote kindness or fairness,” she said. “I hope people will think twice before chasing virality.”

She told the New York Post that she tried to initiate small talk with Ayoub twice during the pageant but received no response. “I smiled at her on the first morning at breakfast, but she clearly wasn’t going to engage. Later, in an elevator with just the two of us, she stood silently. It was stiff and awkward,” she said.