20 missiles found in UN-run school in Gaza

[steevo]

I don't see many major Western media reporting this. It certainly confirms that Hamas/terrorists will use buildings for the innocent and what Israel has been saying all along.

“UNRWA strongly condemns the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations. This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law,” the statement read. Oh, of course they do 


www.timesofisrael.com/20-missiles-found-in-un-run-school-in-gaza/

[charmbrights]

See also www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-strongly-condemns-placement-rockets-school for the official UNRWA press release.

It is nowhere referenced on the BBC web site, so:

Your Complaint
Type of complaint: General BBC
Complaint category: Bias
Contacted us before: No
Complaint title: Ignoring pro-Israeli facts
Complaint description:
UNRWA issued a press release showing that Hamas are using civilian buildings as cover for military activities, but the BBC is only interested in broadcasting Hamas's false denials. See unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-strongly-condemns-placement-rockets-school where the true facts are given by an unimpeachable source. Or does the BBC claim that the UN are now issuing Jewish propaganda?

I'll keep you posted on their reply.

[steevo]

Thanks Charm. The Israeli Ambassador to the US was on the news yesterday and referred to the incident. He also said the UNRWA contacted the relevant authorities and turned them over, in other words they go back to Hamas.

[Teddy Bear]

As you point out Charm, this story is nowhere to be found on the BBC website despite UNRWA being often quoted by them, particularly when they are blaming Israel for one thing or the other.

Which is why I decided to move the thread to this category.

Great you're taking the time to submit a complaint and keep us posted.

[Teddy Bear]

As if it wasn't bad enough already, as Steevo noted above, apparently UNRWA refused to take photos of the rockets at Israel's request, for further proof of Hamas storing rockets among civilians, but instead of destroying them, they returned them to Hamas.

Any question as to what Israel is really up against with the international scum?
Naturally I can guarantee the BBC won't be reporting this either.
Guess why!

UNRWA gives Hamas rockets found in Gaza school back to Hamas
Robert Spencer

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency “strongly condemned” the placement of Hamas rockets in the school. Then they gave them right back to Hamas. It is quite clear which side the OIC-controlled UN favors in this conflict. “UNRWA Gives Rockets to Hamas,” by Shimon Cohen and Maayana Miskin, Arutz Sheva, July 20, 2014:

The UN agency for Palestinian Arab “refugees,” UNRWA, has caused outrage by apparently giving rockets to Hamas.

On Thursday, UNRWA confirmed that 20 rockets had been found in one of its vacant schools in Gaza.

UNRWA staff said last week that they had “informed the relevant parties and successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects.”

However, Channel 2 reports Sunday that – rather than destroying the rockets – UNRWA workers called Hamas to come remove them.

Hamas has fired over 1,500 rockets at Israeli population centers over the past two weeks. Any new rockets would presumably be used in similar attacks.

UNRWA Refuses to Provide Pictures

While UNRWA confirmed the existence of rockets in one of its schools last week, the organization refused an Israeli request to provide a picture of the weapons. A picture could have helped Israel show that Hamas uses civilian institutions to store weapons and launch attacks.

Hamas has openly used human shields in its latest conflict with Israel. The terrorist group issued a statement Thursday urging Gaza residents to ignore IDF warnings to evacuate their homes.

Earlier, Hamas gathered civilians to stand on the roof of a senior terrorist’s home in order to deter an IDF strike.

[charmbrights]

Jul 19, 2014 8:01:54 GMT charmbrights said:

...

I'll keep you posted on their reply.

here it is:-

Thank you for contacting us about the recent escalation in violence in Gaza and Israel. We have received a wide range of feedback about our coverage of this story across our television and radio programmes and the BBC News website. In order to use our TV licence fee resources efficiently, this response aims to answer the key concerns, but we apologise in advance if it doesn’t address your specific points in the manner you would prefer.

BBC News has reported extensively on the series of rocket attacks launched by Hamas and other Palestinian militants into southern and central Israel in recent weeks. We have reported on the civilian injuries and casualties, destruction and disruption caused by the attacks in towns near Gaza, such as Ashkelon and Sderot. We have also reported on the range and capability of Hamas’ arsenal, emphasising that major urban areas like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are also under threat from attacks.

During our coverage of Israel’s airstrikes in Gaza we have reported on efforts made by the Israel Defense Forces seeking to minimise civilian causalities. We have detailed the prior warnings given to Palestinian civilians and have reflected Israel’s claims that Hamas hide weapons in civilian areas and employ non-militants as human shields:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28245343

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28252155

BBC News has also examined the cause of the conflict, as seen by each side, including Hamas’ hostility to the state of Israel. We believe we have reported on these issues in a fair and impartial manner.

Please be assured we raised your concerns with senior editorial staff at BBC News.

Next stage:


Type of complaint: General BBC
Complaint category: Bias
Contacted us before: Yes
Reason for contacting us again: Unhappy with previous response
Reference: CAS-2820506-1T9F3P
Complaint title: You completely ignored my specific complaint
Complaint description:
You completely ignored my specific reference to a news item from UNRWA (unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-strongly-condemns-placement-rockets-school) which proves that Hamas are using schools to store rockets. Of course, this does not match with your support of Hamas, who wish to deny this fact. Your response is totally unacceptable as I cited a specific fact which you continue to deny.

[Teddy Bear]

Great job Charm. I'll also be posting your complaint and response in the appropriate category shortly.

I looked at the 2 articles the BBC linked in their response, that according to them shows they are being fair and impartial.
Gaza-Israel conflict: Why are civilians on the front lines?
What weapons are being used in the Israel-Gaza conflict

Let's see the relevant passages that in some way, according to the BBC, convey fairness and impartiality.

Why is there always fighting between Israel and Gaza?

The Gaza Strip, sandwiched between Israel and Egypt, has been a recurring flashpoint in the Israel-Palestinian conflict for years.

Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war and only pulled its troops and settlers out in 2005. Israel considered this the end of the occupation, but it still exercises control over most of Gaza's borders, waters and airspace. Egypt controls Gaza's southern border.

Israel has imposed tight restrictions on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip, measures it says are vital for its own security.

However, Palestinians in Gaza feel confined and are suffering socio-economic hardship. The dominant Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas and other militant groups say the restrictions are intolerable

Now if the BBC were going to be fair and impartial they would have had to state that the restrictions were tightened in an effort to restrict the constant firing of rockets at Israel and continuing terror attacks from Gaza following their evacuation, otherwise it shows Israel and Egypt as 'the bad guys'.

How come civilians are bearing the brunt?

Are Israeli air strike warnings effective? The BBC examines footage from both sides

Gaza is a small territory with a large population and Palestinian officials say many of the casualties were caused by air strikes in residential areas. President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of committing "genocide" while human rights groups have warned Israel that air strikes in densely populated areas or direct attacks on civilian homes could violate international law.

Israel has said the homes it has bombed belonged to senior militants and served as command centres where rocket attacks were co-ordinated. It says militants deliberately fire rockets from civilian areas and store rockets in places like homes, school and hospitals.

So I read nothing here that tells of Israel always warning civilians to flee the area before it attacks. Also, despite the fact that the BBC have several journalists in Gaza that are witnesses to where the rockets are fired from, it is only a 'claim' by Israel and therefore not necessarily true. Not even the recent admission by UNRWA following the discovery of 20 rockets found in one of their schools makes it into the BBC narrative.

But this for the BBC is fair and impartial.

They also seem to be completely unaware of this

Hamas Interior Minister Orders Citizens to Ignore IDF Evacuation Calls
Which shows quite clearly that Hamas is doing its best to ensure that the civilian death toll will be as high as possible despite Israeli efforts to minimise them.

If I look at the latest article today on the conflict, then what the BBC response claims shows it is being fair and impartial should be part of that article.

Can you find it? - I sure can't! Note too the quotes attributed to the UN and UNRWA, and still no mention of the 20 rockets found at their schools. Also, how does the UN know how many 'civilians' have been killed, as distinguished from terrorists?

Gaza conflict: UN chief Ban urges end to fighting

A woman the BBC filmed being pulled from rubble is recovering in hospital - but none of the people with her survived, as Paul Adams reports

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Israel and the Palestinians to "stop fighting" and "start talking" to end the conflict in Gaza.

He was speaking in Israel as diplomatic efforts intensified.

More than 600 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed in the past 14 days of fighting, officials say.

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said a previous Egyptian plan should form the basis of a ceasefire.

Speaking in Egypt, Mr Kerry said the US was concerned about Palestinian casualties, but lent his support to Israel's "appropriate and legitimate" military operation.

He also said the US was sending $47m (£28m) in aid to Gaza "to alleviate the immediate humanitarian crisis".

Mr Kerry is expected to stay in Cairo until at least Wednesday for talks with Egyptian officials and the Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said they hoped the talks would lead to a ceasefire
'Maximum restraint'
At a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Ban urged Israel to exercise "maximum restraint", adding that "military action will not increase Israeli security in the longer term".

He called on the Palestinians to pursue a policy of "no violence, recognition of Israel and respect for previous agreements".

Replying to Mr Ban's opening comments, Mr Netanyahu asked: "What grievance can we resolve for Hamas? Their grievance is that we exist."

The latest Palestinian death toll of more than 600 was announced by Gaza's health ministry, which also said that 3,640 people had been injured.

The UN relief agency in Gaza said one of its schools, in which around 300 people had been taking shelter, had been hit by Israeli shelling on Tuesday.

UNRWA says more than 118,300 Palestinians have now taken refuge in its shelters. It says 43% of Gaza has been affected by evacuation warnings or declared no-go zones.

Israel said two more members of the IDF died on Monday

At the scene - the BBC's Yolande Knell in Gaza City
Some 50 Palestinians have been killed here since midnight local time. Health officials told us that doctors tried to rescue the baby of a pregnant woman from Jabaliya who was killed in an air strike, only for the child to die.

Close to the BBC office in Gaza City, body parts could be seen in the rubble of the "Peace Tower" apartment building. Two families - 11 people - were killed overnight.

A distraught man told us how his dead relatives who were staying there had relocated twice first from Beit Hanoun and then Shajaiya, areas that received Israeli military evacuation orders.

At the Rafah border crossing a BBC team was told only two injured people were able to exit to Egypt, leaving a frustrated crowd behind them.

Most ordinary Palestinians are weary and afraid. They sorely want an end to this fighting but many also insist conditions for a ceasefire must be met - including easing the tight border restrictions imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt.

The BBC's Chris Morris reports from Jerusalem
The vast majority of the people killed in this conflict have been Palestinian civilians in Gaza. But Israeli military casualties are unexpectedly high - 28 soldiers killed so far.

If anything, this has increased a sense of solidarity. Military service is compulsory for most here, and there is huge sympathy for the armed forces.

One of the soldiers killed in Gaza on Sunday, Sean Carmeli, held joint US-Israeli citizenship and his family lives in the United States.

So the Israeli football team he supported, Maccabi Haifa, appealed on Facebook for fans to attend his funeral, to ensure he was not buried alone. Twenty thousand people turned up.

Plenty of Israelis are uncomfortable with Gaza's high civilian death toll. But a clear majority continues to support a military operation designed to limit Hamas's ability to fire rockets into Israel, and to infiltrate Israeli territory.

The extent of the cross-border tunnel network dug by Hamas has been a big shock for some. And Israelis want the threat removed.

The majority of Palestinians killed have been civilians, including dozens of children, according to the UN.

The IDF also says it has killed at least 170 militants. Israel says 28 of its soldiers and two Israeli civilians have died over the past two weeks.

Early on Tuesday, Israeli air strikes destroyed several mosques and targeted a stadium and the home of the late leader of Hamas's military wing.

Israel launched its ground operation in Gaza after days of air strikes, following rocket fire by militants into Israeli towns.

It says the move is necessary to target Hamas' network of tunnels, which have been used by militants to get into Israel and carry out attacks.

Also on Tuesday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suspended all flights into Israel's Ben Gurion Airport for 24 hours, citing security fears.

There were reports that several European airlines were following suit, including Lufthansa, Air France and KLM.

Meanwhile, Israel says a soldier hit in a Hamas attack in Gaza on Sunday is missing.

Sgt Oron Shaul, 21, was the last of seven soldiers reported killed in a single incident in Shejaiya, near Gaza City, on Sunday. Local media say he is presumed dead.

Hamas said on Sunday evening that it had captured an Israeli soldier, but Israel denied the claim.

So by their own admission to what they wrote to you that they KNOW IS NECESSARY to show fair and impartial coverage - they are omitting it in each article they run.

[Teddy Bear]

Another load of rockets have again be discovered in an UNRWA school. No doubt they will make sure they get back to Hamas to be used against Israel civilians, while masquerading as caring for innocents.

Yet again for the BBC, they prefer to look the other way and avoid all mention of this lest people start questioning the Hamas modus operandi.
In their latest article today, demonising Israel as usual, they mention UNRWA, but nothing about their discovery of rockets.
The UN relief agency UNRWA said more than 118,300 Palestinians had now taken refuge in its shelters. It said 43% of Gaza had been affected by evacuation warnings or declared no-go zones.

For second time, rockets found at UN school in Gaza
‘How many more schools will have to be abused by Hamas missile squads before the international community will intervene?’ Foreign Ministry fumes

For the second time in less than a week, rockets have been found in a school in Gaza operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the body said.

“Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip,” the organization said in a statement issued Tuesday. “As soon as the rockets were discovered, UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets. The school is situated between two other UNRWA schools that currently each accommodate 1,500 internally displaced persons.”

As it did the last time around when missiles were found in a school it operates, UNRWA said it “strongly and unequivocally condemns the group or groups responsible for this flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law.”

UNRWA, the UN agency charged with overseeing humanitarian efforts in Gaza, said it immediately “informed the relevant parties and is pursuing all possible measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school.” The organization again pledged to launch a “comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.”

Israeli officials reacted furiously to the discovery. “How many more schools will have to be abused by Hamas missile squads before the international community will intervene,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor told The Times of Israel. “How many times can it turn its head the other way and pretend that it just doesn’t see?”

Last Wednesday, UNRWA found some 20 rockets in a school under its auspices, also during a standard inspection. A spokesperson for UNRWA said the organization gave the rockets to “local authorities,” which answer to the Hamas-backed unity government led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. “According to longstanding UN practice in UN humanitarian operations worldwide, incidents involving unexploded ordnance that could endanger beneficiaries and staff are referred to the local authorities,” UNRWA’s director of advocacy and strategic communications, Christopher Gunness, told The Times of Israel Sunday.

In Jerusalem, such assertions are rejected, even ridiculed, with officials charging that the weaponry was returned to Hamas. “The rockets were passed on to the government authorities in Gaza, which is Hamas. In other words, UNRWA handed to Hamas rockets that could well be shot at Israel,” a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

Another senior official pointed out that UNRWA has a history of letting Hamas use its facilities for its terrorist activities. “Time and again, over the years, UNRWA has been abused by gunmen from different terrorist factions who are using UN facilities to stockpile weapons, to fire rockets from, to steal UNRWA humanitarian equipment and to cause damage and fire in UNRWA’s hangars,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told The Times of Israel.

“Against all evidence, UNRWA refuses to acknowledge reality and pathetically attempts to ingratiate itself with Hamas, pretending that nothing serious has happened,” the senior official said. “This is a classic case of beaten-wife syndrome, which we have been witnessing for years from UNRWA. The people of Gaza, and indeed taxpayers from countries who contribute to UNRWA’s budget — including Israel — deserve better.

[Teddy Bear]

The only reason I'm not covering more on the subject of BBC bias in relation to the Israel/Hamas conflict is because BBC Watch is doing such a thorough job of it.

But according to the way the BBC are reporting events in Gaza, Israel is indiscriminatingly firing on Gaza homes and citizens without regard for life or property.

The BBC also have a slew of reporters in Gaza telling just how bad it is for residents there.

Just how is it they feel so safe reporting from the middle of a war zone?

They don’t do it in Syria, or Iraq, or anywhere else that Islamic factions are vying for power, and if you believe their reports, Israel are massacring civilians in much the same way.

The fact that they know they are safe is proof they know their reports are fictitious.

They are safe from Hamas because Hamas knows they are bolstering support for their agenda.

And they know full well they are safe from the ‘evil’ Israelis.

[Teddy Bear]

Yesterday again, for the third time, an arsenal of rockets were found on an UNRWA school premises. No doubt these too will be handed over to Hamas, making the UN complicit in war crimes.

Still no article by the BBC that highlights the import of this news.

Their biggest news however, both on their Middle East page as well as their Home page, is this article:
Gaza conflict: UN accuses Israel over Jabaliya attack

Israel attacked a UN-run school housing refugees in Gaza despite warnings that civilians were there, the UN has said.

UN spokesman Chris Gunness said "the world stands disgraced" by the attack, in which 15 died and dozens were hurt.

The Israeli military said an initial inquiry suggested soldiers responded to mortar fire. It says it is now holding a partial, four-hour humanitarian ceasefire.

Some 1,200 Palestinians and 55 Israelis have been killed in the conflict.

Most of the Palestinian deaths have been civilians.

Now I have no idea of the real circumstances of these deaths but a certain logic makes these claims suspicious, besides various omissions show a clear bias.

Israel is well aware that it is getting demonized by much of the world media for being responsible for civilian deaths in Gaza. It is clear that there is little or no blame for Hamas for using civilian areas to launch attacks against Israel, knowing full well civilians will be in the firing line.

Israel does it's best to warn civilians to flee areas that will be targeted by a variety of means. In fact the BBC does show one picture to this effect, but no explanation of the import in relation to this, or any other of their articles.


So it's clear that Israel has to respond to attack, but is doing all it can to avoid innocents suffering. The very fact that they put troops on the ground, which creates a higher death toll to their own soldiers, rather than fire missiles from planes, is all part of this effort.
So it's unlikely that knowing civilians, particularly children, are sheltering in a school, Israel would fire on them.

So how does the UN 'know' that it was the result of Israeli fire that killed these civilians?
They 'know' that 3 times now they have already found Hamas rockets on the premises.
They know that Hamas fired first at Israeli troops from the area.

Anybody with a modicum of intelligence would also know that the only kind of 'success' that Hamas can hope to reach with their aggression is to demonize Israel in the eyes of the world. They certainly have nowhere near the weaponry they would need to seriously threaten Israel in a war.
Therefore Hamas needs these civilian deaths, and besides stopping civilians from fleeing areas that Israel has warned will be hit, making sure there will be casualties, it wouldn't surprise me at all, given their mindset, that they will purposefully kill their own people to make sure that children will be hit.

Plain common sense!

Given that the UNRWA are very aware that Hamas have used their schools to conceal rockets, shows they're well aware of the disregard Hamas has for it's own people.

The BBC also seems to have no problem stating 'most of the Palestinian deaths have been civilians'.
But no mention of any figure that might indicate just how many were terrorists, or 'militants' as the BBC refers to them.

As I've already noted, if Israel was so disregarding of human life in Gaza, NONE of the BBC journalists would have enough guts to remain there. They do so because they know that short of some unexpected accident, like a Hamas rocket landing short, as a lot of them do, they will be safe and secure.

Near the end of the article the BBC reports

In other developments:

The UN on Tuesday revealed that a cache of rockets had been found at one of its schools in Gaza - the third case of its kind - and condemned it as a "yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises"

So there's no question they too are well aware of this flagrant disregard for civilian life by Hamas, but prefer not to show it in any meaningful way.

One can read nearly every line in their article, as well as news reports, that it is pure spin that is being spread, will little or no logic or common sense.

[Teddy Bear]

Just came across this link which confirms that some honest journalists after leaving Gaza and free from Hamas intimidation are revealing the truth about what is really going on there. BBC Watch also has more on this.

Media cover-up of Hamas crimes starting to unravel

Posted by William A. Jacobson Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at 5:31pm

Italian journalist leaves Gaza, tells truth once free from Hamas retaliation

Yesterday one of the stories thrust into the mainstream media was nearly simultaneous explosions in a Palestinian neighborhood and at al-Shifa hospital.

The media immediately took the Hamas line that it was Israeli missiles. Later, the IDF stated that it had not fired on those locations, and that the explosions were misfired Hamas or Islamic Jihad missiles.

The media played it as he said, he said.

But an Italian journalist has just left Gaza and is telling the truth about what happened now that he needs not fear Hamas retaliation — Israel was right (h/t Israelly Cool):

gabrielebarbati @gabrielebarbati
Follow
Out of #Gaza far from #Hamas retaliation: misfired rocket killed children yday in Shati. Witness: militants rushed and cleared debris
3:46 PM - 29 Jul 2014

gabrielebarbati @gabrielebarbati
Follow
@idfspokesperson said truth in communique released yesterday about Shati camp massacre. It was not #Israel behind it
3:47 PM - 29 Jul 2014

How many more of the civilian casualties have been cause by Hamas and Islamic rockets that fell short or misfired? Like Israel says happened at a U.N. school and shelter.

We likely never will know because Hamas is so fast to cover up the scene and intimidates reporters:

The Times of Israel confirmed several incidents in which journalists were questioned and threatened. These included cases involving photographers who had taken pictures of Hamas operatives in compromising circumstances — gunmen preparing to shoot rockets from within civilian structures, and/or fighting in civilian clothing — and who were then approached by Hamas men, bullied and had their equipment taken away.

CAMERA discovered a Wall Street Journal reporter coming to the same conclusion as the Italian reporters, but then deleting the tweet:


The reporter later claimed he deleted it because it was speculative.

This is part of a pattern of western media being intimidated into not reporting all the civilian deaths cause by Hamas, and how Hamas uses locations like al-Shifa hospital.

This tweet showing Hamas using al-Shifa hospital for media interviews was deleted by a Wall Street Journal reporter:



Coincidentally after threats were made on Twitter against that reporter and other reporters:


The reporter did not respond to my email seeking an explanation.

The French Liberation newspaper ran an article by a French-Palestinian journalist about how he was summoned to al-Shira Hospital for interrogation by Hamas — just yards from the operating room:



Here is part of it (Google translation from French):

“ARE YOU A CORRESPONDENT FOR ISRAEL?”

A few meters from the emergency room where the injured bombing tributary constantly, it is received in the outpatient department, “a small section of the hospital used as administration” by a band of young fighters. “They were all well dressed, is surprised Radjaa. In civilian with a gun under his shirt and some had walkie talkies ” . He was ordered to empty his pockets, removing his shoes and his belt then it is called in a hospital room “which served that day office of command to three people.”

A man prim begins his interrogation: “Who are you? How do you call? What are you doing? ” “I was very surprised by the procedure,” admits Radjaa, who shows him his press card in response. Questions come. Then asked if he speaks Hebrew, he has relations with Ramallah. Young Hamas supporters insist the question: “Are you a correspondent for Israel?” Radjaa repeat that only works for French media and a chain of Algerian radio.

It was then that the three men he delivers this message: “This is yours to choose. We are an executive administration. We will carry the message of Qassams. You have to stay at home and give your papers. “Stunned to be covered by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, Radjaa tries to defend himself and especially to understand why such a decision was taken against him. In vain. “It is impossible to communicate with these people,” laments the journalist. It is not the first to undergo this kind of pressure and combatants in front of him did not hide. “They are enraged against the presidency and accused me of collaborating with Mahmoud Abbas,” he says. Reporters Without Borders confirms that this is not an isolated case. The organization has indeed been alerted by the threats of Hamas against Palestinian and foreign journalists for their professional activities threats.

Now the article has been taken down at the author’s request.


Tablet Magazine has more on the cover up of the use of al-Shifa hospital as a Hamas command center.

Remember how many photos of Hamas fighters and scoops about Hamas tactics we’ve seen from reporters, just like we see with regard to the IDF? Neither do I, it’s as if Hamas doesn’t exist to reporters and all the dead are civilians:

Andreas Fagerbakke @afagerbakke
Follow
Report: Hamas has executed 25 "collaborators" and said Israel killed them elderofziyon.blogspot.no/2014/07/report-hamas-has-executed-25.html#.U9UOMP04XIV …
3:35 PM - 27 Jul 2014

Anyone see a Hamas fighter on the tube today? Asking for a friend.

— Jonathan Schanzer (@jschanzer) July 29, 2014

Still no reports from Gaza about Hamas fighters, and how they operate. A part of the story that needs covering.

— Nervana Mahmoud (@nervana_1) July 29, 2014

CiF Watch @cifwatch
Follow
Any foreign journalists in #Gaza brave enough to confirm this news report about #Hamas summary executions?http://bit.ly/1AulKWX
4:35 PM - 29 Jul 2014

More to follow.

The threats and deleted tweets and information have been known for days if not weeks:


The sourcing has been abysmal:

[Teddy Bear]

This is such a great article from James Delingpole I had to post it here.

GAZA: SPARE ME YOUR SICK, MANIPULATIVE, DEAD BABY PROPAGANDA PHOTOS
by JAMES DELINGPOLE

Did you see the photograph of the Middle Eastern boy blown apart in an explosion?
I did, unfortunately. Someone insisted on posting it in my Twitter timeline. For my education, presumably.

The boy - no older than five - was on a hospital bed. It must have happened very recently because there was still colour in his face. His eyes were closed and his expression - he can't have seen it coming, thank God - was serene. You might almost have imagined him asleep, if it weren't for the fact that his body was in bits: head and severed torso; an arm; legs and lower body; entrails.
Whoever did this, I thought, is really, really sick.

But I didn't mean the Israelis - who, I imagine, were the people I was expected to blame. Rather, I meant the sicko who scooped up the boy's remains while they were still fresh and insisted on laying them out, like some grotesque jigsaw, in order to snap them artfully for a propaganda shot. And also, all the sickos out there who have been reposting photos like these all over the internet in order to make what they seem to imagine is an unarguable point about Israel's war on Hamas.

The point they are trying to make goes like this: here is a dead child; killing children is evil; Israel killed this child; therefore Israel is evil.

Are you buying this argument? I'm not. I don't even think it qualifies as an argument. In fact, I think it has about as much insight and depth as one of those posters with kittens on it saying: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
What I loathe about it is its mixture of hectoring presumption and manipulative dishonesty.

Presumption: "If you support Israel, then you clearly don't care about dead children," it says. (Is there anyone in the world who isn't moved by the sight of a dead child? I don't think so. The people who are implying otherwise are beneath contempt).
Dishonesty: other than the truism that war is hell, the photograph actually tells us nothing.
We have no idea whether this boy was actually a victim of the fighting in Gaza - or of the far bloodier and uglier civil wars in Syria and Iraq.

If he was indeed a Palestinian, we have no idea whether he was killed by Israeli fire or by Hamas ordinance.
Nor, even if he was killed by Israeli fire, do we know the circumstances. Maybe it was a tragic mistake; maybe, he was one of those innocents that Hamas likes to use as human shields in its rocket launching sites; maybe he was being used as a "tunnel rat"; maybe he'd tried to flee with his family to a shelter only to be driven back to his apartment by Hamas who recognise the propaganda value of dead children.

In a world where the media was doing its job, none of this would need explaining. It would be widely known that Israel is going to extraordinary lengths - even to the point of risking the lives of its fighting troops - to minimise civilian casualties. It would also be widely understood that the aggressor in this conflict - and the only side that can possibly benefit from large numbers of Palestinian dead - is Hamas.

But the media isn't doing its job. Apart from small pockets like Breitbart, Fox and the Spectator, almost no one out there is reporting the reality of what is happening in Gaza. What this information deficit means is that there are people out there - lots and lots of them - who are happy to act as Hamas's useful idiots, disseminating this vicious and unprincipled terror group's vile propaganda in the belief that it will further the cause of peace.

No it won't. It just advances the cause of the bad guys.

[steevo]

Right to the point(s) and typical of James. The only point I would make is many in the media and Leftist movement are not motivated for the cause of peace. The ultimate elimination of ME democracy, and the Jew, has been on their pallet for a long time now.