Several weeks ago, a Reuters report hinted that Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal had said in an interview that his terror group was prepared to recognize Israel.
Meshaal was quoted as saying that Israel is a "reality" and "there will remain a state called Israel; this is a matter of fact." The problem in the region, he said, was not Israel's existence, but "that the Palestinian state is nonexistent."
The terror chief was also quoted as saying, "As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on the 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land. This is a reality, but I won’t deal with it in terms of recognizing or admitting it."
Only several hours after this seemingly news-making "recognition" of Israel hit the wires, the Hamas organization released a scathing official denial. Hamas criticized Reuters for "twisting statements in the interview."
An official Hamas letter expressed "utter dismay and protest over the distortions and alterations contained in the introduction to the interview and over lack of accuracy in citing what Brother Khaled Meshaal said."
The Hamas information office statement added that the way Reuters handled the interview "reflects negatively on its professionalism" and called on the agency to rectify its mistake.
The complaint listed a number of "inaccuracies" in the way Meshaal was quoted, claiming that the Syrian-based Hamas leader never said "there will remain a state called Israel." Instead, Hamas said, Meshaal specifically stated, "It is a fact that there is an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian lands, but I do not face this situation with acceptance or recognition." Hamas charged Reuters with twisting what Meshaal said to "insinuate wrong impressions."
Hamas also said that it was not the first time Reuters distorted interviews with Hamas figures, noting that it did the same with Hamas terrorist Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi days before he was killed in an IDF attack.
It added that Reuters was the only news agency to carry a statement in the name of Hamas that allegedly mourned Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the al-Qaeda group in Iraq, who was killed by U.S. troops in Iraq. Hamas claimed the reported statement was "forged."
Reuters has also been widely criticized for past alleged forgeries, such as last summer's alteration of photographs of IDF attacks in Beirut in order to make the damage seem larger than it actually was.
In one photo, a Reuters photographer was found to be using computerized enhancement techniques to make a billow of smoke over a Beirut building, allegedly generated by an IDF bomb, more solid and black, implying that more ammunition was used in the attack than had actually been used. The photographer was later fired.
Israeli officials downplayed the interview in which Mashaal implied that Hamas recognized the existence of Israel. They noted that the specific arrangement described by Mesha'al - a long-term ceasefire in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, the release of all jailed terrorists, and the "right of return" for descendants of Arab refugees who fled Israel in 1948 - was essentially similar to previous statements made by him and other Hamas figures.
Officials added that while such conciliatory-sounding statements often appeared in the Western press, what really mattered was whether the same statements would be published for Arabic readers.
"Saying that Israel is an established fact is just recognition of reality," one Israeli diplomatic source said. "It doesn’t say that they [Hamas] accept this fact." The source pointed out that there was nothing in Meshaal’s comment that said Hamas had changed its desire to destroy Israel.
Meshaal was quoted as saying that Israel is a "reality" and "there will remain a state called Israel; this is a matter of fact." The problem in the region, he said, was not Israel's existence, but "that the Palestinian state is nonexistent."
The terror chief was also quoted as saying, "As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on the 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land. This is a reality, but I won’t deal with it in terms of recognizing or admitting it."
Only several hours after this seemingly news-making "recognition" of Israel hit the wires, the Hamas organization released a scathing official denial. Hamas criticized Reuters for "twisting statements in the interview."
An official Hamas letter expressed "utter dismay and protest over the distortions and alterations contained in the introduction to the interview and over lack of accuracy in citing what Brother Khaled Meshaal said."
The Hamas information office statement added that the way Reuters handled the interview "reflects negatively on its professionalism" and called on the agency to rectify its mistake.
The complaint listed a number of "inaccuracies" in the way Meshaal was quoted, claiming that the Syrian-based Hamas leader never said "there will remain a state called Israel." Instead, Hamas said, Meshaal specifically stated, "It is a fact that there is an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian lands, but I do not face this situation with acceptance or recognition." Hamas charged Reuters with twisting what Meshaal said to "insinuate wrong impressions."
Hamas also said that it was not the first time Reuters distorted interviews with Hamas figures, noting that it did the same with Hamas terrorist Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi days before he was killed in an IDF attack.
It added that Reuters was the only news agency to carry a statement in the name of Hamas that allegedly mourned Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the al-Qaeda group in Iraq, who was killed by U.S. troops in Iraq. Hamas claimed the reported statement was "forged."
Reuters has also been widely criticized for past alleged forgeries, such as last summer's alteration of photographs of IDF attacks in Beirut in order to make the damage seem larger than it actually was.
In one photo, a Reuters photographer was found to be using computerized enhancement techniques to make a billow of smoke over a Beirut building, allegedly generated by an IDF bomb, more solid and black, implying that more ammunition was used in the attack than had actually been used. The photographer was later fired.
Israeli officials downplayed the interview in which Mashaal implied that Hamas recognized the existence of Israel. They noted that the specific arrangement described by Mesha'al - a long-term ceasefire in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, the release of all jailed terrorists, and the "right of return" for descendants of Arab refugees who fled Israel in 1948 - was essentially similar to previous statements made by him and other Hamas figures.
Officials added that while such conciliatory-sounding statements often appeared in the Western press, what really mattered was whether the same statements would be published for Arabic readers.
"Saying that Israel is an established fact is just recognition of reality," one Israeli diplomatic source said. "It doesn’t say that they [Hamas] accept this fact." The source pointed out that there was nothing in Meshaal’s comment that said Hamas had changed its desire to destroy Israel.