|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By: Tamar Sternthal
Last week, major mainstream news outlets again displayed a stubborn propensity for taking the Hamas terror organization on its word. When Hamas issued a statement May 6 claiming to accept the ceasefire plan, numerous media outlets uncritically reported as fact that the terror organization had done exactly that.
The next day, the U.S. State Department explicitly stated that in no way did Hamas accept the ceasefire proposal. Yet, the same media outlets which adopted the Hamas fabrication as gospel completely ignored the American clarification debunking the terror organization’s falsehood.
Thus, the unequivocal Reuters headline about Hamas’ supposed approval of the ceasefire plan states: “Rafah: Hamas accepted Gaza ceasefire proposal, Israel ‘will continue its operation.’”
As of this writing, the false headline still stands although five days have passed since State Department spokesman Matthew Miller made absolutely clear on May 7 that Hamas’ claim to accept the ceasefire was untrue.
In that May 7 briefing (1:28), Miller plainly stated:
Let me just make one thing clear which is that Hamas did not accept a ceasefire proposal. Hamas responded and their response made several suggestions. It’s not the same as accepting. That statement that was issued yesterday – that was widely reported – I don’t blame the reporting – it’s what the statement said – is not an accurate reflection of what happened. They responded as people do in a negotiation process but it was not an acceptance.
On May 8, CAMERA contacted Reuters to point out Miller’s important statement and urge correction of the erroneous headline. Reuters has yet to set the record straight.
Moreover, days after the State Department verified Israel’s insistence that Hamas’ claim of acceptance was fraudulent, Reuters continues to ignore the American information.
For instance, yesterday Reuters reported the question of Hamas acceptance as an unresolved he said/she said dispute between Israel and the terror organization (“Hamas says ceasefire efforts are back at square one“):
Hamas had said it agreed at the start of the week to a proposal by Qatari and Egyptian mediators that had previously been accepted by Israel. Israel said the Hamas proposal contained elements it cannot accept.
A second Reuters story yesterday likewise concealed the fact the U.S. confirmed that Hamas falsely claimed to have accepted the proposal on the table (“Israel orders Palestinians to evacuate more areas of Gaza’s Rafah“):
The latest evacuation orders came hours after internationally mediated ceasefire talks appeared to be faltering. Hamas said Israel’s rejection of a truce offer it had accepted returned things to square one. Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.
The Los Angeles Times was another major media outlet to publish a false headline stating as fact that Hamas had accepted the ceasefire proposal. The front-page print edition headline May 7 falsely stated as fact: “Hamas says yes to truce; Israel mulls over terms; Announcement comes after leaflets dropped in Rafah ordered civilians to evacuate.”
The accompanying article was a touch more cautious. Tracy Wilkinson’s article begins: “Hamas announced Monday that it accepted a cease-fire agreement with Israel in Gaza, a diplomatic breakthrough . . . “
Sixteen long paragraphs later, the article buries: “U.S. officials accused the militant group of moving the goalpost in the negotiations.”
As of this writing, The Los Angeles Times has yet to correct the erroneous print headline. Nor has it reported the American information that Hamas lied about accepting the ceasefire.
The Associated Press also published headlines which stated as fact that Hamas accepted the cease-fire including “Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire; Israel says it will continue talks . . . ” and “The Latest | Israel launches strikes in Rafah, hours after Hamas agrees to a Gaza cease-fire.”
Similarly, in “Here’s what’s on the table for Israel and Hamas in the latest cease-fire plan,” Samy Magdy and Drew Callister began: “Hamas has formally accepted a cease-fire deal that could end the war in Gaza.”
Even after Miller’s briefing, the AP continued to state as fact on May 8 that Hamas accepted the proposal. For example, “The Latest: Israel forces block Gaza’s Rafah border crossing. . . ” (2:10 AM GMT) stated as fact in the second paragraph: “The Israeli assault into Rafah came just hours after Hamas accepted a cease-fire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar” (May 8).
Though AP reporters were present at Miller’s May 7 press briefing and therefore the news agency was well aware of his revelation about Hamas’ fabrication, the wire service nevertheless continued to uncritically report Hamas’ claim to have accepted the deal. Completely disregarding the fact that the United States had debunked Hamas’ fallacious acceptance, AP yesterday reported (“Israel orders new evacuations in Gaza’s last refuge of Rafah as it expands military offensive“):
Another round of cease-fire talks in Cairo ended earlier this week without a breakthrough, after Israel rejected a deal that Hamas said it accepted.
Even with a straightforward State Department statement explicitly substantiating Israel’s information, journalists adamantly refuse to acknowledge that Hamas sold them a lie. Lacking the integrity to set the record straight, journalists reject a longstanding deal — the one in which ethical journalism provides the public with “the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough.”
Tamar Sternthal is director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. She monitors both U.S. publications and English-language Israeli publications, and heads up CAMERA’s “Haaretz, Lost in Translation” project. Her columns have appeared in numerous American and Israeli publications, including the Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Ynet, Algemeiner, Philadelphia Daily News, St. Petersburg Times, and the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Sternthal is interviewed on radio about the media’s coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict and regularly participates in panels about the media, hosted by universities and think tanks in Israel. Twitter handle: http://twitter.com/TamarSternthal
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) is an international media-monitoring and educational organization founded in 1982 to promote accurate and unbiased coverage of Israel and the Middle East. CAMERA is a non-profit, tax-exempt, and non-partisan organization under section 501 (c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. To learn more or receive our newsletters please visit CAMERA.org.
