included this one liner:
“Two Palestinian women are killed in an Israeli siege at a mosque in Gaza”
…which is a stunningly one-sided abridgement of the story. Turning to the World page on BBC Views Online for instance, we see a more accurate summary of events:
Gaza women end mosque stand-off
A siege at a Gaza mosque ends after the gunmen inside escape by mingling in a human shield of women.
When BBC News Twenty-Bore finally got round to their full report of the story it was introduced with:
“Two Palestinian women are reportedly killed…”
…just another word omitted from the headline version, natch.
According to ITV and Channel 4, who are not exactly the most unbiased of sources either, the women were there in response to a radio appeal for human shields. In other words, they had given up civilian status within the meaning of the act and had made themselves legitimate targets. Their presence was meant purely to morally blackmail Israeli forces, and, in case the blackmail failed, to add yet another complaint to the multitudinous series of frauds and self-developed lies that go on the Palestinian charge sheet against Israel, the West and the world at large. However, the corrupt leadership that deliberately makes use of civilians as human shields against Israeli forces should notice that, outside the Arab world (whose support is at any rate certain and uncritical), this sort of manoeuvre has sharply diminishing returns. Once the majority of us realize what is going on and why (the usual lunatics who would blame Israel for the current state of European football and the deteriorating taste of Marmite need not apply), then we will no longer believe all the whiny stories about suffering civilians, but will generally take any and every claim from Palestinian sources with extra disbelief.
er… then we will not only no longer believe all the whiny stories…
Also, I had neglected to add that if a radio appeal for human shields had managed no more than some fifty women or so, then we can be sure of two things: first, the cause of defending gunmen against Israelis is not quite as popular, even in the gunman’s paradise of Gaza, as they would have us believe; second, the women we saw on TV running and screaming “They are killing us, what is the world doing?” are not ordinary Gazans, but hardcore loyalists whose word counts no more and no less than that of the ordinary gunman. BBC and other Arab propagandists of the world please take note.
I can see that the second title is not as bad as the first. Still it is bad enough in that it gives a positive air to the use of human shields.
A faithful title would run “Palestinians use human shields to end battle”.
This is important, because giving a heroic air to the use of human shields allows advantage in battle to those violating the Geneva Conventions. I don’t think that when used in this way the Conventions could last much longer.
Any and every report sympathetic to human shields is guilty of sabotage against the Geneva Conventions. When will the Beeb realize this.
John Keegan in the Daily Hizballahgraph writes
There will soon be another war in the Middle East, this time a renewal of the conflict between the Israel Defence Force (IDF) and Hizbollah. The conflict is inevitable and unavoidable. It will come about because Israel cannot tolerate the rebuilding of Hizbollah’s fortified zone in south Lebanon, from which last year it launched its missile bombardment of northern Israel.
Hizbollah has now reconstructed the fortified zone and is replenishing its stocks of missiles there. Hamas is also creating a fortified zone in the Gaza Strip and building up its stocks of missiles. Israel, therefore, faces missile attack on two fronts. When the Israel general staff decides the threat has become intolerable, it will strike.
Keegan’s only mention of the UN force is
Destroying the underground military facilities may be straightforward, but it is likely to create diplomatic complexities, particularly with the UN. Entering south Lebanon risks provoking a clash with Unifil, the major part of whose strength is provided by France.
He doesn’t remark on Unfil’s uselessness in restraining Hitzballah’s operations.
But the BBC haven’t even gone as far as reporting on the refortification & rearming of the Lebanese border.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/11/03/do0302.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2006/11/03/ixopinion.html
So the Pallies use their women to shield their gunmen because they assume correctly that the Israelis are decent and would not shoot down women cold-bloodedly: unlike the ‘militants’, of course.
Did anybody see the footage of one of these supposed killing this morning? I saw it on Sky News and it looked like pure Pallywood. Camera men mixed in with the crowd, a woman suddenly dropping to the ground, no blood, her being ‘shot’ in an area with apparently no line of sight to where they were apparently going and worst of all, the infamous ambulance, right on cue, dragging the victim along the ground and into it.
I thought it was “March of the Penguins” 2.
just saw the clip on the news – indeed gordon is right. it was like “march of the penguins”.
Al-bbc’s headline should have read.
“Palestinian gunmen hide amongst women to show how much they care about their civilians”.
Yet another example of the “bravery” of the Palestinian terrorists. They strut around in their street parades waving their guns in the air chanting “Death To Israel” but when it comes time to fight the Isrealis they beg their women to save them….what pathetic scum.
BBC World actually covered this quite well and without too much of a slant, a rare event.
The reporter on the ground said “the gunmen managed to escape from the mosque in the ensuing confusion” but the stupid newsreader (not sure of her name but she was of asian appearance), summing up before the next program, used the words “when they reached the mosque it was empty”.
Brainless!
“March of the penguins” brilliant. Haven’t laughed so much since the last intafada.
I wish my governments (UK, EU, UN) would stop supplying aid to the Palestinians. Then they would have to shape up or starve. The present situation just allows them to get on with their favourite activities of 1) thinking up ways of killing Israelis, or 2) wondering if they’re ready to screw the woman in the corner again.
John Gentle | 05.11.06 – 12:46 am
“they would have to shape up or starve”
Gentle by name, Gentle by nature eh?
I wonder what John Vicious’s line on this one is.
JR – so your view of Palestinians is that in the choice between 1) shape up, and 2) starve, they’d choose starve? Well then, it seems neither of us has a high opinion of Palestinians.
All “Palestinians” see themselves as soldiers maintained, as is their “legitimate right”, by JG’s goverments (UK EU UN). I say “all” because those who don’t have long ceased calling themselves “Palestinians”. They are “Israelis”.
If JG’s governments ceased providing for them, they will indeed have to sort themselves out. Which they will unless they cherish martyrdom, in which case we should honour their wishes.
“If JG’s governments ceased providing for them, they will indeed have to sort themselves out. Which they will unless they cherish martyrdom, in which case we should honour their wishes.”
I believe they’ve done quite a lot of mutual culling already. However, such is their fearsome birth rate that their numbers increase dramatically each generation.
Ken Livingstone’s pal Mufti Yusuf Al-Qaradawi tells Muslim women its OK to remove your hijab before blowing yourself (and others) up.
http://www.israellycool.com/blog/_archives/2006/11/6/2477678.html
See also Network of Islamic Jihad women exposed
http://FreeIsraelNow.blogspot.com
The Glowing BBC’s Journalist-PROPAGANDIST: Matthew Price on the dead in Gaza (Nov 2006)
Don’t these propapgandists ever have any brains how transparent they are?
You could almost see it in Matthew’s eyes how he was waiting for this moment, the moment he can damn Israel for daring to fight for it’s survival.
As the BBC testifies: “The BBC’s Matthew Price was one of the first members of the world media to reach the scene the Beit Hanoun shelling”.
You didn’t see him when Hamas told the Palestinian Arab women to serve as shields for the terrorists in Beit Hanoun. Because he has an agenda, not any caring for ANY loss of life.
You didn’t see him at the Arab Palestoinian rockets launching in to Israeli houses that triggered Israeli action in Gaza. Because he has an agenda, not reporting events.
It was quite a theater, the BBC’s camera and Matthew’s theathrical “questions” to the Arab father that lost a child in Gaza, the seconds silence before and after, so to let the “effect” of it.
Of course no one saw any saddness in Matthew about ANY CIVILIAN hurt, be they’re Arab or Israeli.
The extrtemely excited Matthew kept doing the traditional BBC “Putting VIEWS first” (though they still go by the slogan: “Putting news first”), in his video, adding that Israel asked “where is the accuntablity on the Arab Palestinian side in the rockets launching up till now”, but “The outrage is at Israel for using so much force” – says Matthew.
Matthew is also an “analyst” adding such a stupid line as: he “why did Israel target this area which is certainly a civilian area”, Hey, Matthew, Is there such a thing as “civilian areas” and “non civilian areas” in the “Palestinian” area (especially in Gaza)?
Neither Matthew Price nor anyone at the Arabist BBC is ever caught in any drama video in Israeli hospitals with injured or dead bodies.
NewsWatch Profiles Matthew Price
Matthew Price is one of the BBC’s correspondents in the Middle East. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_3870000/newsid_3872900/3872951.stm
BBC NEWS Middle East Gaza town stunned by shelling
The BBC’s Matthew Price was one of the first members of the world media to reach the scene the Beit Hanoun shelling. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6128614.stm
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BBC – Press Office – Matthew Price
Matthew Price has been a BBC Middle East correspondent based in Jerusalem since March 2004. Prior to this, he was the BBC’s Belgrade correspondent from 2002 … http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/news/matthewprice.shtml