A War of Words 

The Israeli and Palestinian Media Coverage of the al-Aqsa Intifada

5. GETTING TO THE SOURCES

 “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and import information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”

(Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948).

 Most of the Israeli military correspondents, Arab analysts and journalists never went to the Palestinian territories before the intifada started, and they certainly do not now. Some, however, continue to travel to the sources. Amira Hass lives in Ramallah. Gideon Levy takes regular trips to the occupied territories, producing good articles on closure and other issues not often mentioned in the Israeli media, showing the human side of the Palestinian living conditions. The same goes for Tom Segev. All these come from one newspaper, Ha’aretz. The Israeli TV and Radio also have correspondents visiting the occupied territories.

On 10 October, PHRMG issued a press release stating that since the start of the “al-Aqsa uprising”, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) did not contact Palestinians to interview them about the events occurring in the Palestinian areas. In contrast, interviews with Israeli government officials were widely broadcasted, supporting the actions of the Israeli security forces and one-sidedly blaming the Palestinians for stirring violence, being the “aggressors”. Ignoring the voice of Israeli human rights organisations, the IBA used certain terms in the context of the confrontations, referring to Palestinian citizens of Israel as “Arab residents”, a statement which obscures the fact that they are full-right citizens of the State of Israel. The IBA also described the clashes in a way that minimised their importance.

The Director of the official Israeli radio (“Kol Israel”) Amnon Nadaf, issued in November 2000 regulations to all the editors of the news programs in the station ordering them to minimize interviews with Palestinian politicians. The explanation behind this was that they did not want to “provide a media platform for Palestinians against Israel”. Nadaf added that his radio is called “Voice of Israel” - not “Voice of Palestine”.[1] This type of censorship is common in Israeli state channels, but not so apparent in for example Ha’aretz newspaper or the  Jerusalem Post.

On 27.11.2000  Al-Ayyam reported that the PA Ministry of Information urges Palestinian officials to boycott the Israeli radio. In response to the decision taken by Amnon Nadaf to minimize interviews with Palestinians, the officer in charge of the Palestinian press department, Khaled al-Khatib, asked all the Palestinian officials and political figures to boycott the official Israeli radio. Al Khatib claimed that the official Israeli media is now directed and closely monitored by the Israeli Intelligence Service that leaks rumours and false information about the current situation in the Occupied Territories.

In December 2000, the Palestinian Authority resorted to a shameful form of censorship when they issued a list with names of Israeli journalists who were to be blacklisted and not allowed entry to the Palestinian Areas A.  The list was “confidential” and handed out to the Palestinian checkpoints for the Palestinian police to enforce. The names of those Israeli journalists who were to be allowed entry were also supposed to be on the list. In the view of PHRMG, denying entry to any journalist, biased or not, constitutes a violation of international standards of press freedom, together with the 1995 Palestinian Authority Press Law.

  Al-Hayat al-Jadida on 07.02.2001 reported that “Palestinian Journalists demand that Israeli media be prevented from entering the territories”:

“Tens of Palestinian journalists yesterday marched in Gaza city demanding that the PA takes a decision to prevent all Israeli journalists from entering the territories, since Israel continues its aggressive policy against the Palestinian people, including the military closure of the areas, and the Palestinian journalists are prevented from entering Israel and Jerusalem…. Palestinian journalists also demand that the PA issues an order to prevent officials from giving interviews for the Israeli media.”

Improving fairness in Israeli media coverage can only be done by continuously issuing detailed, accurate, and reliable information on what is going on in the occupied territories. A quick glance at the PA’s official website (www.pna.org) reveals that the Palestinian Authority have not undertaken this task. Information on Israeli human rights abuses, the ongoing siege and other issues can only be found at the websites of the many Palestinian NGOs. The PA limits itself to statements by Chairman Arafat or other officials, thereby feeding the media with the usual rhetoric which everyone refuses to take seriously or which is often misused or used for Israeli propaganda purposes. Sky TVs correspondent reported this from Sharm El-Sheikh ceasefire summit in October 2000:

“[Israeli] government officials distributed videos of “Palestinian provocations” and glossy brochures filled with gruesome photographs of the aftermath of suicide bombs directed at Israeli targets. Officials who normally would barely pass the time of day with foreign reporters were suddenly on first-name terms. It was impossible to cross the lobby of the hotel where most of the delegations were staying without running the gauntlet of Israeli propagandists.

Of the Palestinians there was neither sight nor sound.” [2]

Palestinian journalists based in the West Bank and Gaza are rarely granted Israeli press cards, which makes travel inside Israel and to Jerusalem, or between the West Bank and Gaza, impossible.

“Palestinians are deliberately excluded from any meaningful input to the international news gathering process by the Israeli government.” (The Electronic Intifada, “Introduction to Media Coverage”, by Nigel Parry). [3]

This also includes Palestinians working for foreign news organisations:

“Since the beginning of the current violence in the territories, the Government Press Office (GPO) has refused to issue or renew press credentials for Palestinians who work for foreign news media based in Israel, and the step has become long-term policy to combat alleged pro-Palestinian bias in reporting, Army Radio reported on Wednesday” (Ha’aretz 01.11.2000).

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza published in December a report on Israeli aggression against journalists during the period of September 29 to November 20, 2000. [4] The report showed a record of 29 shooting incidents against journalists involving the Israeli army (including rubber bullets), where among others, two female reporters were seriously injured. Further, nine incidents involved beatings of reporters. Photographers and cameramen have been particular victims of violence from the Israeli army. They have been chased, intimidated, beaten and shot at. International journalists are not immune to attacks by the Israeli army; during the al-Aqsa Intifada, several incidents involving foreign correspondents have been reported. PHRMG simply reminds:

“Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict shall be considered as civilians…They shall be protected as such under the Conventions and this protocol, provided that they take no action adversely affecting their status as civilians…” (Article 79 of Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949).

The basic duty of journalists is to convey facts honestly, objectively and without bias. Achieving this requires the freedom to receive and impart information, without any restrictions.

The Israeli army has also targeted Palestinian radio transmitters and media installations in the occupied territories. On 12.10.2000, Israel bombed the towers and ground installations of the Palestinian broadcasting station in Ramallah in an attempt to shut down the “Voice of Palestine” radio station. Israel accused the radio of broadcasting inflammatory material since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada. The radio has transmitted national songs and constantly reported on the clashes occurring throughout the occupied territories. Israeli military commanders said this coverage directly provoked attacks against its forces, including the killing of the two soldiers in Ramallah on 12.10.2000. The radio station was an important source of information on the events, and Israel has “required that the official Palestinian news outlets cease their depictions of all Palestinians killed as heroes and all Israeli soldiers and settlers as villains”. [5]