Media Analysis

Israel deliberately provoked the latest violence in Gaza, but you won’t learn that in the ‘NY Times’

You can turn to Haaretz, the distinguished Israeli newspaper, to see how the New York Times slanted today’s article about the increase in violence inside Gaza and across the border in Israel. Haaretz quotes Jamal Zahalka, a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset, who blames Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for the escalation:

The Israeli government is being pushed into a corner by the non-violent demonstrations in Gaza and is initiating a military confrontation to stop them.

The timeline proves that Israeli is provoking the latest violence. On Sunday, Israeli tanks killed 3 members of the small Islamic Jihad group who were inside Gaza. (The Israeli military said it killed the 3 because a bomb had been planted overnight near the border; it offered no proof the dead had anything to do with the alleged bomb.)

In response, Islamic Jihad, and the much larger Hamas, supposedly fired 70 mortars or rockets into Israel, killing no one but allegedly injuring 3 soldiers and one civilian. Israel knows full well that Hamas fears losing support if it makes no answer to the most extreme Israeli provocations. The Times article fails to report that during months of murderous Israeli aggression against Gazan civilians, the Palestinians until now have not launched a single rocket.

The Times breathlessly and at length recounts Israeli anxiety over the limited attacks from Gaza: “Sirens blared again;” “cellphones were buzzing with alerts of incoming rockets.” (The headline in the online report calls it a “barrage,” surely an exaggeration.)

The Times also alleges that over the months of protest, “incendiary kites and balloons” have caused “hundreds of fires in the fields and forest on the Israeli side.” Hundreds! Where are the photos of these conflagrations?

Israel predictably “retaliated” — with air strikes on 35 targets inside Gaza. A Haaretz reporter, Asaf Ronel, had already forecasted Israel’s actions, but the Times did not make the same cause and effect connection — even though Ronel writes in English. What’s more, the Times has a reporter in Gaza, Iyad Abuheweila, but the paper had nothing to say whatsoever about how Gazans were reacting to being under assault. Maybe their cellphones were also buzzing, and their children were also afraid?

In fact, you have to wait until paragraph 32 in the Times to even learn that Israel since March 30 has killed 120 Palestinians, and the paper left out the fact that thousands more have been injured. The BBC report of the same events notes right away in the sixth paragraph that “UN and human rights officials have accused Israel of using disproportionate force” — the Times cites no human rights organizations.

Finally, the Times article nowhere explains that many in Israel believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu is deliberately increasing tensions, in Gaza and elsewhere in the region, to distract attention from the multiple corruption probes zeroing in on him and his wife. The paper doesn’t have to agree (or disagree) with this interpretation. Just tell us about it.

13 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

The NYT (and the rest of US MSM) are doing what they do best~ lying to Americans and to themselves. It’s a terrible habit that nobody in Congress or any White House has been honest enough to challenge because they have the very same habit. It’s disgraceful and Palestinians are murdered, maimed, imprisoned, and brutalized as a result of their deceptions. It seems that they are all addicted to Israel.

It’s bad enough that I can’t persuade some folks that I know to read MW and other articles that I provide to them, but it really stinks that MSM won’t provide any truth because those same folks might actually avail themselves of the truth if it were printed or spoken about in MSM. So, a huge number of Americans are left behind~ Intellectually lazy and ignorant as hell.

Thanks, James.

Why are we even surprised! The NY Times pulled the same BS during the lead up to the 2014 war. They conveniently forgot to mention that Israel had recently assasinated a senior Hamas operative in March, and that IDF the live fire had killed a Palestinian teenager just before the kidnapping of the three Israeli teenagers. They also conveniently forgot to mention that the Israeli government, despite knowing the teenagers were already dead within 24 hours of their kidnapping, placed an official gag order on the media while they proceeded to use the media blackout as cover to spend over a week, raiding, rounding up, arresting, interrogating, and killing any and every male Palestinian in the West Bank they could get their grubby hands on. Not to mention a few Israeli “pre-emptive” Airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza . All before a single rocket was fired from Gaza…

Nikki Haley is not happy:

“Nikki Haley Slams Security Council Over Gaza Rockets: Hamas Committed to Israel’s Destruction

‘It’s outrageous for the UN Security Council to fail to condemn rocket attacks,’ U.S. ambassador to UN says, adding Gaza residents need protection from Hamas, not from Israel

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed the Security Council early Thursday with a defiant speech in the aftermath of the flare-up between Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel, saying it was “outrageous for the UN Security Council to fail to condemn rocket attacks” by the Hamas “terrorist organization.”

Haley expressed regret that a statement proposed by the U.S. deploring the attacks from Gaza was blocked, claiming representatives at the council use a double standard when it comes to condemning actions against Israel.

“We all know that certain actions in and around Gaza receive an enormous amount of attention both here in the Security Council and throughout international media. Strangely, other actions do not receive nearly the same attention that they deserve,” Haley said with sarcasm.

Haley said that the “desired outcome” of attacks directed against Israel was “to maximize civilian casualties.” Five Israelis sustained shrapnel wounds and a kindergarten was hit by mortar fire some 30 minutes before it was opened.

Haley said the “outrageous terrorist attack” carried out by Hamas naturally triggers a reaction of Israel in self-defense, adding that the people of Gaza “need protection from Hamas” and not from Israel. She spoke of a “disconnect” and of “hypocrisy” in relation to the Security Council attitude toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Hamas’ stated purpose is the destruction of Israel, aim is to create as much damage as possible and to provoke a response in self-defense that will provoke international condemnation of Israeli action,” Haley said.

During the emergency session, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, who had promptly condemned the launching of rockets into Israel on Tuesday, noted however that “the dangerous escalation” in Gaza can’t be divorced from two months of mass protests at the border fence with Israel in which some 110 Palestinians were killed and large numbers injured by Israeli military fire. …”

video @- https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-haley-slams-un-says-hamas-committed-to-israel-s-destruction-1.6135154

“UN: Kuwait blocks US resolution condemning attacks on Israel”

http://www.euronews.com/2018/05/30/un-kuwait-blocks-us-resolution-condemning-attacks-on-israel

Israel and the US must be writhing… in shock.

@north

(((((you won’t learn this at the nyt because they still try and base their articles on facts. And of the reporting at the times continues to anger staunch zionists the same way it angers you the I jade always surmised they must be doing something right. Now their opeds i find deplorable but that is separate from journalism. hopefully you don’t consider yourself a journalist because you write nothing without an extremist angle. your much better here writing for a known hate-blog)))))))

Oh those “rockets”. Always raining down on poor Israel.