Post by Teddy Bear on Apr 4, 2010 19:53:55 GMT
Since last Tuesday, the BBC have been running the news that a Palestinian youth in Gaza had been shot and killed by Israeli forces in clashes there. It states categorically
Only later in the article do we see
So how many readers will bother to read on into the article to have seen this possibility? And if they did, they would get the usual anti-Israel rhetoric that accompanies every article on the subject.
However, yesterday (Saturday) it miraculously appears that the boy has turned up alive and well at home. I know it's Easter, but what really is going on?
How is it the BBC are prepared to run as fact anything that Hamas reports? And when it turns up that all the sources interviewed for this story were bogus, and the facts are so different from what was initially reported, there is no story about that. Yet it seems whenever and whatever Israel would claim would appear first in quotation marks, and made to seem that it has been made up.
Can we expect unverified future Hamas claims to be treated differently? Of course not! They can invent any news they want and the BBC will be only too willing to go along with it.
Here are both stories - just in case the BBC want to edit them up the line.
And yesterdays
Gaza boy reported killed returns home alive
Saturday, 3 April 2010 17:10 UK
The Land Day rallies led to clashes with Israeli forces
A Palestinian teenager reported to have been killed in a clash in Gaza has returned home alive and well.
Muhammad al-Faramawi, 15, was said to have been killed in clashes on Tuesday near Rafah, according to health officials in the Gaza Strip.
Israel denied involvement, and sources in Gaza suggested the boy may have died in an inter-Palestinian dispute.
He returned home on Friday after apparently fleeing to Egypt through a smuggling tunnel and being held there.
His family expressed "overwhelming happiness" that he was unharmed, Palestinian news agency Maan reported.
Dr Muawiya Hassanein, of Gaza's health ministry, announced on Tuesday that the teenager had been killed during protests near to the Gaza border to mark Palestinian Land Day.
The day commemorates the deaths of six Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who were killed at a demonstration over land seizures 34 years ago.
'Left bleeding'
He said the boy had been left "bleeding for hours" before a medical team was allowed to collect his body.
However, amid confusing reports, unnamed Palestinian sources also said the boy's death "may have been an internal matter", without giving further details.
After Muhammad returned home, Dr Hasanien said: "We were getting wrong reports from the officer in the field and we announced later in the day that we did not find the body."
He added: "Anyway, thank God the boy is alive."
Maan reported that 17 Palestinians, including 12 minors, had been held by Egyptian forces shortly after they arrived through one of Gaza's smuggling tunnels near Rafah.
The detainees were returned to the border by security forces on Friday.
Muhammad al-Faramawi, 15, was killed on Tuesday by Israeli fire near Rafah, the Hamas-run health ministry said.It went on to add
An official from the Hamas-run ministry of health said the teenager "was left bleeding for hours" before paramedics were able to get Israeli permission to evacuate him.A head doctor there also confirmed this
Only later in the article do we see
However, there has been speculation over whether the boy could have died in an intra-Palestinian dispute.
The Maan news service quoted unnamed Palestinian sources who said the boy's death "may have been an internal matter", without giving further details.
So how many readers will bother to read on into the article to have seen this possibility? And if they did, they would get the usual anti-Israel rhetoric that accompanies every article on the subject.
However, yesterday (Saturday) it miraculously appears that the boy has turned up alive and well at home. I know it's Easter, but what really is going on?
How is it the BBC are prepared to run as fact anything that Hamas reports? And when it turns up that all the sources interviewed for this story were bogus, and the facts are so different from what was initially reported, there is no story about that. Yet it seems whenever and whatever Israel would claim would appear first in quotation marks, and made to seem that it has been made up.
Can we expect unverified future Hamas claims to be treated differently? Of course not! They can invent any news they want and the BBC will be only too willing to go along with it.
Here are both stories - just in case the BBC want to edit them up the line.
Gaza youth 'shot dead' in border incident
A Palestinian teenager has been shot dead close to southern Gaza's border, Palestinians say, as at least five other Gazans were wounded elsewhere.
Muhammad al-Faramawi, 15, was killed on Tuesday by Israeli fire near Rafah, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of hitting anyone, but military sources said warning shots had been fired in the area.
At least five Gazans were injured at protests elsewhere along the border.
Several rallies were held in Gaza border areas on Tuesday to mark Palestinian Land Day, which commemorates the deaths of six Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who were killed at a demonstration over land seizures 34 years ago.
Early reports said Muhammad al-Faramawi had died during a protest, but later reports said the incident occurred before the demonstrations took place, and the main protests were held further north.
Israel enforces a buffer zone close to the border, where it says Palestinians frequently try to plant explosives and have launched attempts to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
Troops have in the past fired at Palestinians in the zone.
The Israeli military said it had acted in "accordance with procedures" to deter protesters who had approached the fence.
It was initially reported that a Palestinian doctor told reporters that medics were not able to reach the body of the boy in time because of ongoing "clashes".
An official from the Hamas-run ministry of health said the teenager "was left bleeding for hours" before paramedics were able to get Israeli permission to evacuate him.
However, there has been speculation over whether the boy could have died in an intra-Palestinian dispute.
The Maan news service quoted unnamed Palestinian sources who said the boy's death "may have been an internal matter", without giving further details.
Further north, near the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, hundreds of demonstrators marched to the border and hurled rocks at Israeli troops, who responded with live fire, witnesses said.
Five people were injured in such protests, Palestinian medical sources said.
Incursion
Last week, Israeli tanks advanced briefly into the Gaza Strip following clashes in which two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian militants died.
Witnesses in Gaza said tanks and bulldozers had moved towards the southern town of Khan Younis before withdrawing.
It was the first time Israeli soldiers had died in Gaza since Israel's 22-day offensive there more than a year ago.
Israel says the fighting started when its troops crossed into Gaza after spotting militants planting explosives along the border.
Reports from inside Gaza say the militants then tried to capture an Israeli soldier.
Unilateral ceasefires declared by both Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas after Israel's military operation in December 2008 and January 2009 have largely held.
Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 Gazans were killed in that operation, though Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were also killed.
Hundreds of rockets have since been fired into southern Israel by militants in Gaza.
A Palestinian teenager has been shot dead close to southern Gaza's border, Palestinians say, as at least five other Gazans were wounded elsewhere.
Muhammad al-Faramawi, 15, was killed on Tuesday by Israeli fire near Rafah, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
The Israeli military said it was not aware of hitting anyone, but military sources said warning shots had been fired in the area.
At least five Gazans were injured at protests elsewhere along the border.
Several rallies were held in Gaza border areas on Tuesday to mark Palestinian Land Day, which commemorates the deaths of six Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who were killed at a demonstration over land seizures 34 years ago.
Early reports said Muhammad al-Faramawi had died during a protest, but later reports said the incident occurred before the demonstrations took place, and the main protests were held further north.
Israel enforces a buffer zone close to the border, where it says Palestinians frequently try to plant explosives and have launched attempts to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
Troops have in the past fired at Palestinians in the zone.
The Israeli military said it had acted in "accordance with procedures" to deter protesters who had approached the fence.
It was initially reported that a Palestinian doctor told reporters that medics were not able to reach the body of the boy in time because of ongoing "clashes".
An official from the Hamas-run ministry of health said the teenager "was left bleeding for hours" before paramedics were able to get Israeli permission to evacuate him.
However, there has been speculation over whether the boy could have died in an intra-Palestinian dispute.
The Maan news service quoted unnamed Palestinian sources who said the boy's death "may have been an internal matter", without giving further details.
Further north, near the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, hundreds of demonstrators marched to the border and hurled rocks at Israeli troops, who responded with live fire, witnesses said.
Five people were injured in such protests, Palestinian medical sources said.
Incursion
Last week, Israeli tanks advanced briefly into the Gaza Strip following clashes in which two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian militants died.
Witnesses in Gaza said tanks and bulldozers had moved towards the southern town of Khan Younis before withdrawing.
It was the first time Israeli soldiers had died in Gaza since Israel's 22-day offensive there more than a year ago.
Israel says the fighting started when its troops crossed into Gaza after spotting militants planting explosives along the border.
Reports from inside Gaza say the militants then tried to capture an Israeli soldier.
Unilateral ceasefires declared by both Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas after Israel's military operation in December 2008 and January 2009 have largely held.
Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 Gazans were killed in that operation, though Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were also killed.
Hundreds of rockets have since been fired into southern Israel by militants in Gaza.
And yesterdays
Gaza boy reported killed returns home alive
Saturday, 3 April 2010 17:10 UK
The Land Day rallies led to clashes with Israeli forces
A Palestinian teenager reported to have been killed in a clash in Gaza has returned home alive and well.
Muhammad al-Faramawi, 15, was said to have been killed in clashes on Tuesday near Rafah, according to health officials in the Gaza Strip.
Israel denied involvement, and sources in Gaza suggested the boy may have died in an inter-Palestinian dispute.
He returned home on Friday after apparently fleeing to Egypt through a smuggling tunnel and being held there.
His family expressed "overwhelming happiness" that he was unharmed, Palestinian news agency Maan reported.
Dr Muawiya Hassanein, of Gaza's health ministry, announced on Tuesday that the teenager had been killed during protests near to the Gaza border to mark Palestinian Land Day.
The day commemorates the deaths of six Palestinians with Israeli citizenship who were killed at a demonstration over land seizures 34 years ago.
'Left bleeding'
He said the boy had been left "bleeding for hours" before a medical team was allowed to collect his body.
However, amid confusing reports, unnamed Palestinian sources also said the boy's death "may have been an internal matter", without giving further details.
After Muhammad returned home, Dr Hasanien said: "We were getting wrong reports from the officer in the field and we announced later in the day that we did not find the body."
He added: "Anyway, thank God the boy is alive."
Maan reported that 17 Palestinians, including 12 minors, had been held by Egyptian forces shortly after they arrived through one of Gaza's smuggling tunnels near Rafah.
The detainees were returned to the border by security forces on Friday.