In the immediate aftermath of any tragedy, people want to find someone or something to blame. In the case of airline disasters, grieving loved ones often turn to official investigators for an explanation of what caused the accident and who is responsible.

But some people like to take investigations into their own hands and alternative narratives begin ciruclating the conspiracy theorists' circuit. And in cases relating to or in the Middle East, Israel is usually the first to be blamed.

In the aftermath of the devastating crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai on Saturday, conspiracists wasted no time taking to Twitter to offer up their theories on what happened. And surprise, surprise, they think it was Israel’s fault.



This isn't the first time the Internet's blamed Israel for a mass tragedy. In the wake of the deadly shootings on the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this year, several conspiracy sites called the event a "false flag" operation calculated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Then there was the case of British Muslim activist Asghar Bukhari, who claimed Israel's Mossad stole one shoe from his UK apartment to intimidate him. That one made Twitter loose its mind, prompting some pretty impressive shoe puns under the hashtags #MossadStoleMyShoe and #ShoeishConspiracy.

Meanwhile, there's still plenty of real mystery surrounding the Russian crash, and a lot more questions than the usual, quick -draw Israel conspiracies can answer.

By Kane Hippisley-Gatherum