It’s quite clear: Hamas relies on the world’s media. There are two parts to the Hamas strategy:
- Completely hide all mention of Hamas’s evil war crimes against both Israeli and their own civilians in Gaza;
- Put out heart wrenching pictures of dead children and other “innocent civilians”.
And it’s worked brilliantly. The lack of criticism of Hamas by journalists actually in Gaza has become almost comical. The sense of relief the honest ones feel when they leave (as happened yesterday with Gabriele Barbati) is palpable. Suddenly they can speak. Legal Insurrection covers the case of the deleted war crimes evidence from the Wall Street Journal reporters and many more.
Remember too, there are no Israeli press in Gaza. The Israeli press are banned by Hamas. Have you heard mention of that?
As Dave’s been saying at Israellycool, the uncritical reporting of the Hamas casualty numbers makes the world’s media look ridiculous. Do their numbers include the 1000 or more armed terrorists that senior Israeli officials are reporting have been killed? Why are Israeli sources tainted and Hamas sources believed?
In my interview on i24 News on Monday I made this point, I wasn’t trying to embarrass the presenter who had just read the Hamas numbers off her teleprompter a moment before turning to me, but it did make her pause and think.
Hamas communicates quite openly (with it’s supporters) on the internet instructing them to report all deaths are “innocent civilians”. Of course you have to read Arabic, their messages don’t quite make the front page of Ha’aretz, so journalists would have to actually do some journalism to see them. They are repeated in the blogs, but journalists can usually ignore those, right? They’ve invented a number (again) of 82% of the casualties being civilians. This was the same one they used in 2008/9!
The second part, heart wrenching pictures, has worked magnificently. Israeli Channel 1 News published what they claim is a transcript of a leaked recording of Obama speaking to Prime Minister Netanyahu. If it’s true it’s astonishing, but even if the exact transcript isn’t true, the sentiments expressed are mirrored in the public press statements put out by the Obama administration which all gush about the poor “innocent civilians”. Here’s the start:
Obama: I demand that Israel agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities – particularly airstrikes.
Netanyahu: What will Israel receive in return for a ceasefire?
Obama: I believe that Hamas will stop firing rockets – silence will be met with silence.
Netanyahu: Hamas violated all five previous ceasefires, it is a terrorist organization which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
Obama: I repeat and expect Israel to unilaterally stop all its military activity. The pictures of destruction from Gaza distance the world from Israel’s position.
Netanyahu: Kerry’s proposal was completely unrealistic and gives Hamas the military and diplomatic advantage.
It only takes Obama to his third statement to say “The pictures of destruction from Gaza distance the world from Israel’s position.” Well that’s correct, the lethal journalism of the BBC, CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and many other international reporters in Gaza, who are completely handled by Hamas, are having the exact effect Hamas wants. It was really no different in Lebanon in 2006 when Hezbollah completely controlled what the world’s media said to. That forced Israel to finish prematurely there.
And that so many of them are quiet and compliant: its hard to believe they are, any longer, honest reporters. Far too many will look desperately for any sign of Jewish or Israeli misbehaviour and gleefully report it (such as the residents of Sderot on the hill). What they won’t report (and it took days for this to emerge) is 25 or more Palestinians murdered by Hamas for little more than having an Israeli cell phone sim card. None of the many world reporters in Gaza, apparently, witnessed the Hamas police shooting starving people trying to get food either. No photos or video of that.
These journalists are not in Syria because Syria is too dangerous. None of the combatant parties in Syria have anything to gain from the world’s media at this stage so they kill them. That keeps them away. Oh and, of course, Muslims killing Muslims (or a few Christians) is nothing like as important as Jews trying to defend themselves.
It is pretty clear, in order of intent to kill maximum numbers of Palestinians, Hamas ranks highest. The World’s media are a close second in the operation, and last of all are the military forces of Israel who are trying to stop terrorists invading our country and dropping explosives on our people.
I hope you are all proud of yourselves, world media, you have more blood on your hands than ever before.
