Impartiality
Our primary conclusion relates to impartiality. When it came to the UK’s public service broadcaster, the BBC, there were clear instances when there was a crucial lack of separation between opinion and fact. With its considerable degree of world influence, this is an area the BBC certainly needs to revisit.
With the BBC’s appointment of a Middle East ‘Editor’ a few years ago, it was perhaps inevitable that audiences would experience some form of ‘editorialisation’, or, at the very least, an element of interpretation of the facts to provide a deeper level of analysis.
However, several years on, it is clear that the boundaries between editorial opinion and factual news reporting in the BBC’s output in this area remain extremely blurred. This is particularly the case with the BBC News website, where the Middle East Editor is effectively allowed free reign to air his own opinions about the conflict, with few signs to alert audiences that this is in fact his own opinion, rather than that of the BBC.
Whether through an excessive focus on humanizing the conflict from the Palestinian perspective or through straightforward expressions of a personal opinion, we must conclude that the BBC was certainly not impartial in presenting an opinion of the conflict and that one of its key guidelines on impartiality was breached on several occasions: “Our journalists and presenters, including those in news and current affairs, may provide professional judgments but may not express personal opinions on matters of public policy or political or industrial controversy. Our audiences should not be able to tell from BBC programmes or other BBC output the personal views of our journalists and presenters on such matters.” (BBC Editorial Guidelines)
On a more positive note, much of the news reporting from the BBC’s various correspondents was balanced and thoughtful and in stark contrast to the BBC’s coverage of the Israel / Hizbollah war in 2006.
In their own editorials too, the press demonstrated an encouraging even balance of perspectives, with The Observer publishing the highest proportion of neutral pieces. Regarding opinion pieces, our research bears out the fact that the UK media is a free and diverse institution, wherein commentators, columnists and cartoonists are at liberty to express a multiplicity of perspectives. The fact that the opinion pieces in the press were twice as likely to be critical of Israel’s offensive as supportive may reveal a great deal about prevailing attitudes towards Israel in the UK, but it certainly does not constitute a breach of impartiality.
Factual accuracy
Our second conclusion relates to the area of factual accuracy. It is clear that several key facts relating to the conflict were, at best, omitted and, at worst, misrepresented on an extremely large scale. The startling under-representation of the nature of Hamas and the lack of context of the history of violence against Israel, both editorially and visually, raises serious questions about whether the media was being factually accurate in its reporting. Does this constitute a breach of the journalistic guidelines on factual accuracy? Technically not. But it certainly seems to contravene the Press Complaint Commission’s guidelines that “The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.” (PCC Code of Practice: Section 1(iii)). Furthermore, it raises doubts over whether the BBC’s Editorial Guideline stating, “We will weigh all relevant facts and information to get at the truth” was upheld to the standard the media consumer would expect.
Balance
Was the media’s coverage of the conflict balanced? In certain areas it was: in the amount of time and space allocated to quoting Israeli spokespeople (if anything, the exposure they were given was disproportionate to that given to Hamas officials, although this may largely be due to a number of factors including the media ban in Gaza); in the overall stance taken by the UK’s broadsheets in their editorial pieces and in the BBC’s coverage of both perspectives of the conflict, specifically in its news reports.
However, when it came to arguably some of the more influential and emotive areas of reporting, we detected serious shortcomings in overall balance and a tendency to depict Israel firmly in an aggressive light. Why, for instance, did Hamas only feature in one quarter of all press cartoons and more than 75% depict Israel as the primary aggressor in the conflict? Why was there an almost obsessive focus on Israel’s ‘control’ of the media environment with no similar questioning about Hamas’s role in influencing sources and statistics in Gaza until after the ceasefire? Why did the Guardian and The Independent choose to publish over five times as many opinion pieces critical of Israel than supportive? And why did the media, especially the BBC, not sufficiently differentiate between civilian and Hamas casualties?
These questions raise issues over the thought processes and perspectives of the media in reporting the conflict and whether it can truly be said that the journalistic principles of ‘balance’ were upheld.
Friday, February 06, 2009
- Friday, February 06, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- bbc
- Friday, February 06, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
[Head of the Blood Bank Prof. Ayelet] Shenhar could not say if the was a blood shortage in the Strip's hospitals during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, since "MDA was not contacted on the matter. As far as I know Jordan sent blood to Gaza and there was no need for the Israeli Blood Bank to do the same. The Palestinians refused to receive blood units from us.This is reminiscent of how the Israeli medical clinic that was set up in Gaza failed - Hamas refused to allow Gazans to be treated by the best medical teams in the world, because they were from Israel.
Clearly Hamas does not consider Gazan lives to be too important. But we knew that already.
Compare this to how the MDA official thinks about helping the enemy:
"Blood is a vital (medical) resource and the goal was to get it to the Gaza hospital," she added. "I'm happy that it worked out."
- Friday, February 06, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
Assud: The Zionist enemy is treacherous, and it kills everything, but I never thought it would kill the children of Palestine, and that it would bomb the Al-Aqsa TV station. As you know, Saraa, Al-Aqsa TV has a special section for children. Children always go there to play and have fun. They come to me and you to listen to beautiful stories for their benefit. But Saraa, I went to Al-Aqsa TV when they said it would be bombed. I couldn't believe it would really be bombed. I went there, and I collected the gifts, books, magazines, and stories, which belong to the children of Palestine, the Pioneers of Tomorrow, so I could remove them before the station was bombed. But Saraa, when I went in – I don't know what happened. All I know is that they brought me here, to Shifa' Hospital, and left me here, Saraa. Praise be to Allah.
[...]
Saraa, my will is that you tell our beloved children never to forget Jerusalem, Saraa. You must pass this legacy on to our beloved children. They must never forget Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, the prisoners, or the refugees. Remind them, Saraa, that we have a land to which we must return, by means of the steadfastness of the resistance and the mujahideen, by means of the steadfastness of knowledge and the fear of God. Tell them that Assud died as a hero, as a martyr. Tell them that Assud died a martyr's death, Saraa.
[...]
We should teach our children that we have a land to which we must return: Jaffa, Acre, Haifa, and Tel Aviv. We will return to all these cities, Allah willing.
[...]
Saraa, I implore you... I entrust you with the legacy of protecting Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the blessed land of Palestine. Listen to me, Saraa: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and the Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Assud dies.
Saraa: Assud... Assud... No, Assud... Don't die, Assud...
[...]
Victory is near. The soldiers of the Pioneers of Tomorrow will grow up. Allah willing, we will follow the same path, the path of the scholars, the path of the authors, the path of the learned and the intellectuals. Oh Palestine, we will liberate your soil, Allah willing. We will liberate it from the filth of the Zionists. We will purify it with the soldiers of the Pioneers of Tomorrow.
So far, the death rate of "Pioneers of Tomorrow" hosts is at 100%, showing incredible Zionist efficiency.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
- Thursday, February 05, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
Egypt closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza on Thursday, after having opened it to allow for the flow of wounded and humanitarian aid in recent weeks.Interestingly, we are not hearing strident demands by "human rights" groups to force Egypt to fully open the crossings. The media is not insisting that Egypt reverse this move. The EU is not saying that Egypt is imposing a blockade on Gaza. The Arab countries are not saying that Egypt is participating in a "slow genocide" of Gazan residents. International law "experts" are not claiming that Cairo is a de facto occupier of Gaza because it controls the Rafah border. Islamic Jihad is not saying that they have the right to shoot rockets into Egypt as self-defense against this unjust siege. The UN is not saying that Egypt's siege is collective pubnishment and therefore a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
"The border is closed since this morning," said a senior border official, adding that Palestinians wounded during the IDF's operation and being treated in Egypt would be allowed to return home. But "no humanitarian delegation, medical staff or media will be allowed to enter," he said.
While Israel sends over some 5000-6000 tons of aid every day to Gaza - an amount that critics are calling way too little - Egypt just turned off their own trickle of aid without a peep of protest from these same critics.
Apparently, Egypt is acting prudently in not wanting Hamas terrorists to enter their neighbor to the south, while Israel's similar actions are compared to turning Gaza into a prison. Egypt is not considered responsible for the welfare of Gazans who were once under Egyptian occupation, but Israel is.
The world believes that Egypt has the right to govern its own borders in ways it sees fit - but Israel doesn't.
- Thursday, February 05, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- self-death
Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, the “ghost” suicide bombers have isolated themselves from families and friends. They spend their time hidden close to areas where Israeli forces deploy. On the selection criteria for suicide bombers, Abu Moath briefly explained that only young people are chosen from the ranks of al-Qassam’s battalions, which number up to ten thousand fighters. Abu Moath disclosed females are also recruited to the ranks of the suicide bombers. The candidate bombers are secretly scrutinized by al-Qassam lieutenants to make sure they are religiously committed and responsible. The next phase is to notify the bomber of their acceptance and put them through psychological and military training on weapons and tactics, especially those used by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Abu Moath asserts that all through the selection and training phases the suicide bombers are tutored by religious clerics and Islamic preachers. Upon completion of training, the bombers are sent behind enemy lines. Each group of suicide bombers is compartmentalized and does not know the location or composition of other groups to avoid compromising their comrades if one of them is captured by the Israelis. Abu Moath admits such captures happen very often because the suicide bombers operate behind enemy lines. Each suicide bomber is issued special weapons and a custom-tailored explosive belt.By the way, this means that at least some of the women killed in Gaza were not civilians.
Other Hamas units of suicide bombers include the “Booby-Trapped Martyrs.” These martyr units are designed to deploy on the streets and alleys of Gaza’s cities, armed with heavier explosive belts than those used by the “ghosts.” These units are as secret and compartmentalized as the “ghost” suicide bombers and deploy with Hamas commando units tasked with kidnapping Israeli soldiers.
Since they were singularly unsuccessful at these attempts, it is back to the drawing board - and back to blowing up their own people.
Palestine Today and Ma'an Arabic are reporting that the "Oasis" cafe in Gaza City was blown up tonight, killing one person and injuring three others.
Since Arabs killing Arabs is considered a natural event, the news media will remain mostly quiet about this.
The 2009 PalArab self-death count, of Palestinian Arabs violently killed by their own actions, is at 19.
Predictably, the moonbats have been hysterical over this, saying that Israel was shooting at the people on the ship and then beating them.
Free Gaza's update on the ship last night was telling: its 8 PM (Central European Time) report said
The Israelis said the boat can not go to Gaza, and it appears they will try to force it to Arish, but the captain intends to push forward. (And having been aboard the TALI I think it will take more than a ramming to sink it)In other words, the "peace activists" were really hoping for a fight.
From the times of the reports, it is clear that Israel warned the ship for several hours before boarding it.
The only reporter who is saying that Israel beat and threatened them is the embedded Al Jazeera reporter.
Israel took the ship to Ashdod to examine the contents and question the passengers. According to Haaretz, the "60 tons" of aid was imaginary:
The Israel Defense Forces said that troops found about 150 bottles of mineral water and a few dozen kilograms of food and medicine on board, despite earlier claims that it was carrying dozens of tons of humanitarian aid.So these pro-terror "peace activists" are caught lying. Again.
The Tali, a cargo vessel flying the flag of the West African state of Togo, was sent by the Palestinian National Committee Against the Siege in cooperation with the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement. Its cargo was claimed to have included about 60 tons of medicine, food and toys, plus 10,000 units of human blood plasma which requires constant refrigeration.
And one of the "human rights" activists on the ship has a bit of a checkered history:
Military sources said that on board the vessel - dubbed the "Brotherhood Ship" - were nine people, including Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who was arrested in 1974 after being caught smuggling weapons from Lebanon to activists in the Palestine Liberation Organization.Which is exactly what one would expect a "peace activist" to do, right?
For context, here are the amounts of aid that Israel shipped into Gaza over the past few days:
February 1 - 4,656 tons of supplies
February 2 - 5,354 tons of supplies
February 3 - 6,106 tons of supplies
February 4 - 5,367 tons of supplies
So even though they were lying about the "60 tons," it is about what three trucks carry. This is hardly an efficient way to get aid to Gazans. (I have not heard about any shortage of blood plasma in Gaza, either.)
- Thursday, February 05, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
Mina Adel Shawky and Essam Kedees Nassif from Dayrout, in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Assiut, were arrested Sunday after being spotted distributing Bibles to pedestrians [at the Cairo International Book Fair.]The men are out of custody but may still face charges.The men were held under investigation for charges of preaching, an offense that does not explicitly exist in the Egyptian legal code. Yet, the report that was filed against them accused them of defaming Islam.
“Preaching is legally not a crime, so the police had to accuse them of something,” Naguib Gobrael, head of the Egyptian Union for Humans Rights told Daily News Egypt.
Shawky and Nassif were denied access to an attorney and the law center was unable to reach them during their detention, a procedure followed by police during closed investigations.
- Thursday, February 05, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- unrwa
Workers employed by the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees went on strike accross the West Bank on Thursday, demanding higher pay.I had recently looked at UNRWA job postings, and came up with these:
Striking UNRWA workers held demonstrations in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, and Jericho on Thursday to highlight their demands.
At the UN Teachers’ College in Ramallah, union head Shaker Ar-Resheq said, “This demonstration is in protest of the rejection of our demands by the UN administration.”
Ar-Resheq said UN workers are demanding a pay increase to reflect rising prices, and two days off a week, similar to PA employees and UN workers in other countries.
For a treasurer, January 2008, in Amman:
UNRWA offers an attractive compensation package including annual salary starting at $67,709 net tax free with dependants or $63,052 single, plus 48.3%, post adjustment (subject to change). Other benefits, subject to eligibility, include education grant, dependency allowance, home leave, pension fund, health insurance and 6 weeks annual leave.After the post-adjustment the salary is over $100K.
For Director of UNRWA Operations in West Bank, 2007:
UNRWA offers an attractive compensation package including gross annual salary starting at $126,565 ($94,564 net tax free with dependants, $87,407 single) plus 37.1% (subject to change) of post adjustment.) Other fringe benefits could include mobility and hardship allowance, education grant, dependency allowance, home leave, pension fund, health insurance and 6 weeks annual leave.Deputy spokesperson, May 2008:
UNRWA offers an attractive compensation package including annual salary starting at USD 106,907 (net tax free $81,197 with dependants or USD 75,432 single) plus 47.6% post adjustment (subject to change). Other benefits, subject to eligibility, include education grant, dependency allowance, home leave, pension fund, health insurance and 6 weeks of annual leave.To be fair, however, UNRWA grunt employees look like they are paid about the same as similar workers in the areas they are employed. Jordanian UNRWA teachers get about $8500 annually.
- Thursday, February 05, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- mahmoud zahar
In other news, an Egyptian governor denies that Mahmoud al-Zahar is hiding in Al Arish. I guess he knows every single citizen there.
A new poll of Palestinian Arabs shows that more people now support Hamas - in the West Bank. A majority of West Bank PalArabs think that Hamas won the war, while only 35% of Gazans felt that way.
- Thursday, February 05, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- self-death
However, I have never seen an English-language op-ed that has as many lies as this one from Al-Arabiya, in English, by Dr. Salim Nazzal:
Many lessons can be concluded from the Gaza war. The first is the Palestinians’ great will to sacrifice to defend their home.More like Hamas' great will to sacrifice Gazans.
...one cannot conceal the feeling of being proud of the Palestinian resistance.As they stayed in tunnels underneath hospitals and shot rockets from mosques.
But the most insanely absurd part comes later:
According to the human rights specialist Lyna al Tabal, there is not a single item in the Geneva Convention Israel did not violate.That's right - every single Geneva Convention! Israel must have done biological experiments against Gazans, shot at Hamas parachutists ejecting from damaged planes, and raped Gaza women, to name a few of the hundreds of Conventions.
This is a state that has more than 200 atomic weapons which means two atomic bombs for each Palestinian.You mean there are only 100 Palestinian Arabs?
A state that has wires and check points (a check point means a slow death and daily humiliation for Palestinians) 20 times more than the Nazi check points during the Nazi occupation of Europe.Um....yeah.
The number of Palestinians who have been imprisoned since 1967 is 30 times more than the Europeans who went to prison during the Nazi occupation of Europe.
There were hundreds of thousands of people in Nazi prisons, not counting death camps. Which means that Nazzal is claiming that far more Palestinian Arabs have been imprisoned than there are Palestinian Arabs.
The number of bombs Israel used against Palestinians is estimated to be 50 bombs or rockets to each Palestinian.Assuming he means Palestinian Arabs in the boundaries of Mandate Palestine, that's 300 million bombs!
The number of displaced Palestinians from their ancestral home in more than 415 villages and cities, due to the European Zionist invasion of Palestine, is about 5 million Palestinians.A neat trick, considering that there were less than a million total Palestinian Arabs in 1948.
Therefore the Palestinian resistance is a reaction to occupation. The occupation comes first; the resistance comes as a natural reaction.See my last post about the Arab murders of Jews in 1914.
Palestinians have every right to resist the occupation following article 1 of the additional protocol of the Geneva conventions 1977 which states clearly that:Even if this applied, this means that they are covered by the Conventions, it doesn't mean that they can flout them.
(Armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination).
Weakening the fist of Zionism is in the interest of all Europe, which the Israeli atomic bombs can reach it in few minutes.Ah, yes, the Europeans are threatened by Israel far more than from Islamic terrorism.
Palestinians prefer to compete with the Jewish community in Palestine in football grounds and in musical halls and not in wars. This view is related to the Palestinian vision which views as Palestine more than a piece of land, but rather as a unique place where God is glorified through synagogues, churches and mosques.A sentiment that I have not seen a single time - ever - mentioned in any Palestinian Arab media, from years of reading them. And keep in mind how many synagogues survived in the Old City of Jerusalem one month after Jordan ejected the Jews there - zero.
And this is only a sample of Nazzal's piece!
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
- Wednesday, February 04, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- history, Islamic Judeophobia
Muslims and Jews were living in peace in Palestine until the Zionists established Israel and started driving Arabs from their ancestral homes...I just came upon the American Jewish Yearbook for 1914-1915, describing events of the year. Here are some of the events in Palestine at the time:
August. Bedouins attack colony of Rehobot, killing one colonist and wounding several others. --Rehobot vineyards penetrated by villagers from Zernuka, who kill Jewish student.There were constant attacks by Arabs against the tiny Jewish community even then, as well as incitement against Jews in the Arab media and economic boycotts.
November. At colony of Kinneret two Jewish watchmen murdered by Arabs.
December. Near Tiberias, two colonists killed and several injured by Arabs.
January. At Hebron, Jewish storekeepers are boycotted by Mohammedan women.
April. Minister of Interior removes Governor of Tiberias on complaint of Chief Rabbi of his laxity in protecting the Jews against Arab attacks.
May. Minister of Interior orders officiais in Palestine to repress all anti-Jewish manifestations.—Chief Rabbi waits on Minister of Interior and reads to him two violent articles in Arab journal Palestine, and warns him that any disorders that might result therefrom would create bad impression abroad.
Pointedly, these attacks and incitement were not against Zionists, but Jews. And the Jews didn't attack any Arabs.
These are the idyllic, peaceful days that the Arab world wants to return to, when the Jews were defenseless and the Arabs could attack them with impunity.
- Wednesday, February 04, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- unrwa
Immediately after the 1948 war, there was a very real refugee problem. The Arab states who did everything they could to eradicate Israel had no interest in helping the refugees that resulted from their war. Instead, they tried to use the refugees as political weapons against Israel, adamantly refusing to resettle them the way that every other refugee group in history has resettled in their new lands.
Over time, different Arab states would try to co-opt the others in pretending to care more about Palestinian Arabs. Egypt and Syria both created their own "Palestinian" organizations to co-opt the growing group and use them as their own propaganda weapons. None of them made any moves to create a Palestinian Arab state, of course, unless it would replace Israel. The only nation in the Middle East that managed to get rid of their Arab refugee camps and replace them with real homes was Israel.
Meanwhile, UNRWA had to grow to take care of the ever-increasing numbers of "refugees." Over time, UNRWA forgot that it was supposed to help solve the refugee problem and instead started acting in self-serving ways, exactly how Arab leaders did. The more "refugees," the more important UNRWA became, as they took care of the PalArabs from cradle to grave, providing food, shelter and schools.
Palestinian Arabs continued to be used for their political value, remaining explicitly stateless even as their sojourn in Arab lands stretched from years to generations. They managed to get for themselves a single, charismatic leader - who used them the same way that everyone else did, while convincing them that he was thinking about what was best for them.
Now, in Gaza, we have groups who are fighting for the loyalty of the Palestinian Arabs there yet who care as little about them as any of their forebears.
We have Hamas, trying to convince everyone that they won the war, and at the same time promising to pay Gazans for their losses.
We have the PA, sending some of their billions from international largesse to Gaza, paying salaries and rebuilding institutions that they hope will not be used by Hamas.
We have the "other" terrorists, who will do what is needed to keep the conflict simmering forever.
We have Egypt, who loudly declare that they are the only ones who can broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and therefore claiming the mantle of the entity that cares most about Gaza - but they will forcibly stop any Gazans that try to go to Egypt.
We have Turkey, who loudly insist that they are the most loyal to Gaza and help in purely symbolic ways.
We have Iran, who send weapons to Gaza in order to have a toehold in an area where they can attack Israel directly from and who has great interest in keeping Gazans miserable and angry at Israel.
We have Gulf states, rich with oil money, sending petrodollars to Gaza to get the citizens to feel that they weren't completely abandoned by them.
And we have UNRWA, who now claim to take care of some 60% of Gazans and who want to keep their own positions in perpetuity.
Look at how Hamas reacted to the UNRWA's charge that their aid was being stolen:
Yihia Mussa, A Hamas MP, told IMEMC that the deposed government in Gaza is not welling to make obstacles for delivering aid supplies to Gazans, he added that the Ministry of Social Affairs told the Palestinian Parliament that UNRWA have been using local NGOs that has political affiliations to deliver the aid to the people, which contradicts with the political neutrality of UNRWA.Hamas, which counted UNRWA as one of their allies, now is lashing out at another potential competitor for influence over Gaza.
None of these players are interested in solving the real problems of Gaza. Nothing is being done by any of these players to reduce the birthrate, to create real jobs, to increase productivity, nor to create a permanent peace with Israel. None of these players are interested in having Gazans mature from a welfare culture into people who act like responsible adults. Doing any of those things would reduce the players' influence and control.
The only player who wants to see Gaza truly get on its feet, to turn into a Singapore or Hong Kong, is - Israel. And since what Israel wants is axiomatically the antithesis of what all the other players want, this will never be allowed to happen even if it was a remote possibility.
Because the other players want to continue to control and influence Gaza for their own selfish reasons.
- Wednesday, February 04, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
OVER 150 women gathered to discuss a way forward in Gaza during a conference in Manchester.The event organised by the sister arm of Hizb ut-Tahrir and held at the Pakistani Community Centre in Lonsight looked beyond the ceasefire, evaluated practical steps that could have prevented atrocities in Gaza and mapped out a future political set up to ensure stability and peace for the region.
The second speaker, Sultanah Parvin, the Women's Deputy Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain spoke in great detail on how an Islamic government would deal with a rogue state occupying territories illegally. She detailed the regional peace a Caliphate would offer to Jews, Christians and Muslims no different to the rich Muslim History which saw huge prosperity amongst communities in the very same region.Yes, we all remember how prosperous Palestine was before Zionism.
This same person wrote an article for the Guardian a few years ago where she said
When is the West going to wake up to the fact that, by definition, Islam is not simply a religion, but an expansionist and exclusivist political phiosophy?I don't identify with the term "British Muslim". It suggests allegiance to Britain and connection to the country's secular system of rule, which is based on capitalist ideals.
Britain is a secular society that separates politics and religion, and that is in contradiction to what Islam teaches. Muslims cannot accept compromising core Islamic values just for the sake of wanting to be labelled "British".
- Wednesday, February 04, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
- moonbats
Palestinian students were set to hold a protest against the Israeli government yesterday until around 40 students for Israel gathered in a counter protest. The Palestinian students decided to not to hold the protest after discovering they were outnumbered, but the Israeli rally continued with chants of "no mas Hamas" and "we want peace, we don't want war."From reading the article, the only person who spoke for the pro-Hamas side was Pitt, who doesn't sound like a Palestinian Arab to me.Political science major Julia Pitt, sophomore, said in an e-mail sent to the Daily Sundial that the Palestinian protest was rescheduled to a later date because there was concern of whether or not they had enough people to make an impact.
- Wednesday, February 04, 2009
- Elder of Ziyon
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum denied the group's men battled from civilians areas.Wow. Besides videos and voluminous documentation that Hamas did exactly that, we can add the very anti-Israel PCHR site, which lists exactly where many of the "resistance fighters" were killed:
This is hardly a comprehensive list, but I think it proves the point fairly well.
(Jan 2) At approximately 19:25, an IOF warplane fired a missile at Sami Ibrahim Lubbad, a member of the Palestinian resistance, near Sheikh Zayed housing project in Beit Lahia town. He was instantly killed.
(Jan 6) At approximately 02:40, a group of the Palestinian resistance exchanged fire with an IOF special unit, which was supported by warplanes and gunboats, in the southwest of Deir al-Balah refugee camp.
(Jan. 7) At approximately 23:05, IOF warplanes fired missiles at the street connecting al-Amal neighborhood and Khan Yunis refugee camp, killing two resistance fighters: Salem Ahmed Abu Mousa, 24; and Hassan Rateb Sama'an, 23.
(Jan 8) At approximately 09:40 on Thursday, an IOF aircraft fired a missile at three members of the resistance who were near al-Qassam mosque in Beit Lahia, killing all three.
At approximately 22:30, IOF bombed al-Zaytoun neighborhood, killing two members of the Palestinian resistance.
(Jan 9) At approximately 20:15, IOF warplanes attacked a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance in Street #2 in al-Qarara village, east of Khan Yunis.
(Jan 10) At approximately 23:30, an IOF warplane fired a missile at Rami Mohammed Sa'id Abu al-'Ata, 27, a resistance activist, when he was in al-Shoja'eya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City.
At approximately 14:00, an IOF warplane fired a missile at Hassan Mohammed Harb, 24, a resistance activist, in al-Sikka Street in al-Boreij refugee camp.
(Jan 11) At approximately 02:00, fierce fighting erupted between Palestinian resistance activists and IOF in Sheikh 'Ejlin neighborhood in the south of Gaza City. The fighting continued for a few hours, during which time 11 Palestinians were killed.
At approximately 06:00, an IOF drone fired a missile at a number of Palestinian resistance activists in Khuza'a village.
(Jan 12) At approximately 15:00, an IOF drone fired a missile at a group of the members of the Palestinian resistance near Sha’aban Mosque at Palestine Square in the center of Gaza City. Three members were killed as a result.
At approximately 17:00, an IOF drone fired a missile at Ussama Abu al-Seifi, 20, a member of the Palestinian resistance, in the east of al-Zaytoun neighborhood.
At approximately 20:00, an IOF warplane fired a missile at two members of the Palestinian resistance in the east of al-Zaytoun neighborhood.
At approximately 18:55, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a group of the Palestinian resistance, whilst in the Abu Bakr al-Seddiq Street near al-‘Awda Square in the center of Rafah.
(Jan 13) At approximately 02:00, IOF moved towards al-Karama area and ‘Aamer housing project in the southwest of Jabalya, under firing, shelling and clashes with members of the Palestinian resistance that continued till 08:00. The clashes resulted in the killing of 13 members of the Palestinian resistance.
At approximately 01:30, violent clashes erupted between members of the Palestinian resistance and IOF troops that moved into al-Dahadih area, between al-Zaytoun and Tal al-Hawa neighborhoods. The clashes resulted in the killing of 8 members of the Palestinian resistance.
At approximately 10:00, an OF warplane fired a missile at Mohammed Maher Mohammed Harazallah, 23, a member of the Palestinian resistance, whilst in the east of al-Zaytoun neighborhood. He was killed.
At approximately 19:00, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a Palestinian resistance activist in al-Zayotoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City, killing him.
At approximately 20:00, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a Palestinian resistance activist in al-Sabra neighborhood, killing him.
At approximately 19:00, an IOF drone fired a missile at a number of activists of the Salah al-Din Brigades (the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees) in al-Shouka village, east of Rafah. Two activists were killed.
(Jan 14) At approximately 03:00, an IOF warplane fired a missile at two Palestinian resistance activists in al-Sabra neighborhood, killing them.
At approximately 20:00, an IOF warplane bombed a group of members of the Palestinian resistance in the New Camp, west of al-Nussairat refugee camp.
At approximately 20:30, an IOF warplane fired a missile at a number of resistance activists in Abu Marahil Street in al-Nussairat refugee camp.
(Jan 15) At approximately 22:00, IOF warplanes fired a missile at a number of activists of the Palestinian resistance near al-Karama apartment buildings west of Jabalya. All the members of the targeted group were killed.
(Jan 17) At approximately 05:00, IOF tanks shelled al-Karama apartment buildings, southwest of Jabalya. As a result, 3 activists of the Palestinian resistance were killed.
At approximately 23:00, medical crews found the bodies of two resistance activists in 'Aamer housing project in the northern Gaza Strip.
During IOF ground incursion into Tal al-Hawa neighborhood that continued until 07:00 on Friday, 16 January 2009, ten members of the Palestinian resistance were killed.
By the way, the Hamas spokesman followed that lie with another equally transparent one:
He also called Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel towns "a means of self-defense."
"Those are not civilians. They are all soldiers," Barhoum said of the residents of southern Israel. "We are firing at places that bring us the F-16s, the warplanes and the tanks."