OPINION:
The Washington Times is generally a good source of information. So why is Associated Press the wire service responsible for reporting on the war in Gaza?
The Times recently published an op-ed by the estimable Sean Durns on the ways in which media has been snookered about the number and kinds of casualties in Gaza (“Israel continues to face the evils of genocide libel,” Web, July 21O. But on the same day, it ran a “news” story by AP containing every journalistic shortcoming Durns mentions (“U.K., Canada, 23 other nations say the war in Gaza ‘must end now”). The AP article reads, in part, “[H]undreds of Palestinians have been killed in shootings by Israeli soldiers…” The only sources are unnamed “witnesses and health officials.”
“Health officials” is nothing but a euphemism for Hamas. “Witnesses” are civilians pressured by Hamas, not by the Israel Defense Forces.
Even The Washington Post finally did its own reporting recently and concluded that Hamas attacks on civilians are the result of Israel and the U.S. taking over food distribution from organizations that had allowed or abetted Hamas’ looting of “aid” trucks (and then the sale, at exorbitant prices, of those donated goods). As Hamas’ money supply is constricted, its assaults on the people become more desperate and vicious. You can watch online videos by brave Gaza citizens.
AP also notes that Hamas says more than half of those killed in Gaza are “women and children.” That is mostly true, but the article gives no context. Using Hamas numbers, the civilian to military deaths ratio is 1.3:1 — one of the lowest urban combat ratios in history. The World War II ratio was 2:1; in Mosul it was 2.5:1.
A final point. Mentioning a possible ceasefire, the AP article reads, “there appears to be no breakthrough.” There also appears to be no mention of the U.S. government position that Hamas — and Hamas alone — is rejecting ceasefire proposals to avoid releasing the hostages it holds in violation of international humanitarian law and to avoid laying down its weapons.
Palestinian civilians are surely suffering, but the burden is on Hamas to accept that the war is lost and to allow its civilians unimpeded access to the aid the U.S. is providing. If AP can’t do better, can’t the Times at least stop running the wire service’s propaganda?
SHOSHANA BRYEN
Senior director, Jewish Policy Center
Washington
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