In the ongoing worldwide media war in which Israel constantly finds itself on the defensive, the latest front has been Jenin and accusations of an Israeli \"massacre.\" This, despite the fact that some reporters admit that no evidence of such has been found. Media watchdog organization HonestReporting.com focuses today on the \"Atrocities of the British Press\" in this connection, writing that although the IDF methods helped reduce civilian casualties, \"the UK media parrot Palestinian claims that it was a massacre.\"
HonestReporting.com notes that the \"credibility of Palestinian \'witnesses\' was barely questioned (despite the horrific Palestinian history of fabricating false claims),\" and that \"equal space was not given to Israeli spokesmen to present their case regarding Jenin.\" The organization raises the following questions to the British media:
\"Why did these articles fail to explain that sending Israeli soldiers in for ground combat puts soldiers in grave danger, but greatly minimizes civilian casualties?
\"Why not contrast this to the huge damage (in comparison) wrought by the powerful bombs dropped by planes - an option Israel did not use in Jenin, but which American and Europeans used in every war including Afghanistan, to avoid risking their soldiers in such operations. No other army in the world would have acted as the IDF.
\"Why does the British media gloss over the facts of the fierce fighting that occurred in Jenin? Why do they not clarify that hundreds of Palestinian gunmen were consistently firing on Israeli soldiers? With such large numbers of gunmen insisting on \"fighting to the death,\" there are bound to be numerous casualties.
\"Why does the media fail to mention that much of the devastation in Jenin was caused not by Israeli soldiers, but by Palestinians themselves blowing up buildings in attempts to kill IDF soldiers. In fact, 13 soldiers died in one such booby-trapped building.
\"Why did these article fail to describe how in many cases Palestinian militants refused to let Palestinian civilians leave Jenin -- a strategy which undoubtedly contributed to more civilian casualties? In terms of the deaths of civilians, the catalyst for the whole Jenin operation was the daily slaughter of Israeli civilians at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. This was a defensive war that Israel did not choose. Contrast how Palestinians are specifically targeting civilians, whereas Israel is targeting those terrorists who kill civilians.
\"Why do these refugee camps exist in the first place? The camps are in Area A - territory totally controlled by Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. Arafat received hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid, yet these refugees have never been given adequate housing and facilities by Arafat. Why not?\"
The entire article can be seen at \"http://www.honestreporting.com/Critiques/2002/31_jenin.asp\".
HonestReporting.com notes that the \"credibility of Palestinian \'witnesses\' was barely questioned (despite the horrific Palestinian history of fabricating false claims),\" and that \"equal space was not given to Israeli spokesmen to present their case regarding Jenin.\" The organization raises the following questions to the British media:
\"Why did these articles fail to explain that sending Israeli soldiers in for ground combat puts soldiers in grave danger, but greatly minimizes civilian casualties?
\"Why not contrast this to the huge damage (in comparison) wrought by the powerful bombs dropped by planes - an option Israel did not use in Jenin, but which American and Europeans used in every war including Afghanistan, to avoid risking their soldiers in such operations. No other army in the world would have acted as the IDF.
\"Why does the British media gloss over the facts of the fierce fighting that occurred in Jenin? Why do they not clarify that hundreds of Palestinian gunmen were consistently firing on Israeli soldiers? With such large numbers of gunmen insisting on \"fighting to the death,\" there are bound to be numerous casualties.
\"Why does the media fail to mention that much of the devastation in Jenin was caused not by Israeli soldiers, but by Palestinians themselves blowing up buildings in attempts to kill IDF soldiers. In fact, 13 soldiers died in one such booby-trapped building.
\"Why did these article fail to describe how in many cases Palestinian militants refused to let Palestinian civilians leave Jenin -- a strategy which undoubtedly contributed to more civilian casualties? In terms of the deaths of civilians, the catalyst for the whole Jenin operation was the daily slaughter of Israeli civilians at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. This was a defensive war that Israel did not choose. Contrast how Palestinians are specifically targeting civilians, whereas Israel is targeting those terrorists who kill civilians.
\"Why do these refugee camps exist in the first place? The camps are in Area A - territory totally controlled by Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. Arafat received hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid, yet these refugees have never been given adequate housing and facilities by Arafat. Why not?\"
The entire article can be seen at \"http://www.honestreporting.com/Critiques/2002/31_jenin.asp\".