Media cover-up of Hamas crimes starting to unravel
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):
Out of #Gaza far from #Hamas retaliation: misfired rocket killed children yday in Shati. Witness: militants rushed and cleared debris
— gabrielebarbati (@gabrielebarbati) July 29, 2014
@IDFSpokesperson said truth in communique released yesterday about Shati camp massacre. It was not #Israel behind it
— gabrielebarbati (@gabrielebarbati) July 29, 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:
.@CAMERAorg @WSJ he was threatened, sample: https://t.co/NCfaGHJBxY https://t.co/9vB4pmrcHg https://t.co/FtZ4DNGQjB https://t.co/hoVngCsw3m
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) July 23, 2014
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:
Report: Hamas has executed 25 "collaborators" and said Israel killed them http://t.co/uebpkly38F
— Andreas Fagerbakke (@afagerbakke) July 27, 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
Any foreign journalists in #Gaza brave enough to confirm this news report about #Hamas summary executions?http://t.co/amy0pcdf9Z
— CiF Watch (@CiFWatch) July 29, 2014
More to follow.
The threats and deleted tweets and information have been known for days if not weeks:
Why are major media orgs silent about threats to their journos in Gaza? http://t.co/fArqW21fvl via @Jerusalem_Post
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) July 24, 2014
The sourcing has been abysmal:
.@JeffreyGoldberg @RobertMackey This is his expert on Israeli war crimes https://t.co/5CcK4dBfky Do you even check who you quote?
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) July 24, 2014
.@JeffreyGoldberg @RobertMackey This is his "human rights activist" source https://t.co/7RRRpiwsNZ to verify video http://t.co/KKy89YPCZE
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) July 24, 2014
.@RobertMackey U know ur "human rights activist" organized human shields? https://t.co/9rZr1ap31g https://t.co/JYPfLXIRwC cc @CAMERAorg
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) July 25, 2014
.@RobertMackey more on your sniper video witness https://t.co/XFLDWFOwyg https://t.co/nnzSH6MluT https://t.co/ru2nsSYIGu cc @CAMERAorg
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) July 25, 2014
UPDATE 7-30-2014: UN Official admits Hamas firing rockets “from the vicinity of UN facilities”
So is this the only reporter who saw rockets fired from Shifa Hosp or are the others too scared to report? http://t.co/uJRXTJfRx5
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) August 1, 2014
Same reporter then gets upset, Finnish reporter confirms rocket fire from hospital but furious people quoted her
[Featured Image Source: IDF Twitter}
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Comments
Maybe it’s true that the rocket misfired, but I have no doubt in my mind that Hamas would do it intentionally, as an anti-Israel propaganda operation.
Hamas has a history of blaming Israel for their misfires. This is going to be hard to do, when Israel has good satellite imagery.
People that make a hero out of scum that cuts a six month old girl’s throat in her crib, would have no trouble bombing their own people to use as propaganda against Israel.
People that make a hero out of scum that cuts a six month old girl’s throat in her crib
— and then use her picture in their propaganda, pretending that she was an Arab killed by Israel. (And forget to photoshop out the large mezuzah on her bedroom doorpost.) Don’t forget that.
Please note – it was only a misfire because it killed Arab children. If it had killed Jewish children, it would have been a success, from their viewpoint.
It’s not a misfire. Hamas fires so many rockets, in hopes of overloading Iron Dome’s logic, that they are making the majority of them locally. There’s no QA and they are steel pipes with welded fins and no guidance. They shoot in a general direction and hope for the best.
Now for Hamas, “the best” means killing someone. If it’s a Jew, great for them. If it’s one of their own, great too, because the western press will condemn Israel no matter what.
I’ve no doubt that Hamas pirates DO intimidate reporters.
I also have no doubt that Hamas pirates find other reporters and their agencies quite willing to collaborate for access.
Remember, CNN admitted doing this with Sadam…without apparent embarrassment.
They are not pirates. They are cold blooded murderers who terrorize their own population.
And that differs from “pirates” how?
I don’t put it past these assholes for a minute that they might bomb their own hospitals and schools on purpose, under a ‘false flag’ concept.
Thanks for posting this story. It is an important one on the merits, but it is also a signal that the time frame for the debunking of obvious lies has been reduced almost to the attention span of reporters. If the correction occurs within a day or two, it just might get carried with the original story. This is hugely important to our national dialog.
Inescapable Conclusion: Any group who will use their own children as suicide bombers, who will use noncombatants as human shields and will hide explosive weapons in schools is literally capable of anything. Anything at all.
By comparison, the most drug addled crack addict wandering the streets of Souf’side Chicago has both more credibility and integrity than anyone associated with Hamas.
In other words, Obama voters 🙂
May advice to Israel comes in a quote from Star Wars: Episode I
Darth Sidious; “Wipe them our. All of them.”
Israel should have driven them into the sea 20 years ago.
AllenG over at AOSHQ, has the prefect prescription.
“Burn it down.
Scatter the stones.
Salt the earth where it stood.”
I see no other solution.
Gaza delenda est?
The problem is that the UN and the nations for whom Israel and Hamas fight as proxies will not allow “total war.” They allow them to bloody each other, and then separate them as if they were boys fighting in a school yard. As long as one side or the other protects its proxy fighter from final defeat, this will go on indefinitely. Israel needs to make real refugees of the Palestinians and forcibly remove them all from Gaza and the West Bank.
Hopefully they have had enough and won’t stop their defensive war until the last of Hamas is dead.
They’ve been using the hospital as a base of operations for a long time. Not just in the tunnels beneath it, either.
Which is why you’ll never see a photo from the bottom floors – too many guys with weapons walking around.
I don’t blame journalists for keeping quiet when under threat themselves, but they should leave Gaza and then tell the truth. They aren’t, for the most part, which makes them complicit.
Enough of them have egos, and wanting to be the one who breaks the Next Big Story is too tempting.
If the middle-east is their “beat” then these journalists will again at some point have to go in harm’s way, and as we know, these Islam-o-nutjobs have long, long memories.
We can’t thank you enough Professor Jacobson for doing this. The hate that surrounds us is overwhelming at times but you have the courage to shine the light of truth on these crimes against humanity (not just Jews).
The damage has been done. Attacks on Jews, diplomatic action against Israel, maybe some soldiers killed (Heaven forbid) because of a need to hold back…
[…] Legal Insurrection brings us the story (also reported in the Harry’s Place article) of an Italian journalist who only found it safe to report that it was Hamas’s misfired rockets that killed many civilians at an UNRWA camp after he left Gaza and was far from the terrorists’ retaliation: […]