I very rarely watch BBC Breakfast TV but I have just been told about a gem that was on it this morning just after 8am. It appears we were treated to a short potted history of Gaza and the conclusion was that Hamas, after all, is democratically elected and all that Hamas really want to do is get on with building up the Gazan economy and making life better for the people of that area. The faux analogy with Northern Ireland was then employed with the suggestion that Israel should talk to the more “moderate” wing of Hamas, just like the British Government had engaged with the “moderate” Sinn Fein wing of the IRA. It’s all so risible, so totally detached from reality, that it is almost beyond comment but the reality is that many millions of people will have tuned in and been exposed to this pro-Hamas propaganda. And THAT is the danger of the BBC; it is a willing propagandist tool for terrorism, in this instance shilling for Hamas, the IRA — and for that, it deserves to be damned.
Moving on to other matters Gazan, I see the BBC is relentlessly quoting “500 deaths” without any effort to tell us how many of those killed are Hamas terrorists and how many other were killed because of Hamas. Just one big bite-sized media friendly number, natch. I also noted that on the Today programme this morning, the BBC explained that because of Israel’s refusal to let journalists into the conflict area, it had to rely on images provided by those residing in Gaza. (And they didn’t mean the IDF) It stopped short, however, of making it clear that all images and data provided to the BBC are Hamas approved – so no possibility of any bias there then!
Here’s a Hamas “fighter” in civvies that I refer to above:
At 00.56
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7812495.stm
Staged Photos Pouring Out of Gaza
Gosh | 06.01.09 – 2:13 pm | #
“you are wanting to punish people because of who they vote for”
Nothing to do with the incessant firing of rockets then?
Piss off will you?
glj:
Anybody catch this Yonotan Shapira guy, he’s been on BBC 24 twice in the last 2 days, his message must be one that they really want to get across. Won’t be surprised to see him get a prime time slot.
glj | 06.01.09 – 10:21 am |
Yes I watched him, and thought he made a convincing case for the peace activists.
But one particular thing he said was not challenged, and even if he had thought of it, the interviewer wasn’t capable of doing it.
One of his arguments appeared to be that the Palestinians’ only desire, and only requirement for peace, is for Israel to return to the pre 1967 ‘borders’
He was probably too young to remember, but what the hell did he think was the situation before the 6-day war?
Yes, Israel WAS within the 1967 ‘borders’. What was the 6-day war all about?
Surrounding Arab states decided to attack Israel, starting with shellfire from Syria onto kibbutzim situated below the Golan Heights. A huge build -up of Arab forces were positioning themselves all around the borders, Jordan was hoodwinked into joining in too. That is what prompted the crucial pre-emptive strike by Israel that saved them from destruction, and shows what Israel is up against if it retires to pre 1967 ‘borders.’ It is the simple reason why they can’t just do what he suggests, For Peace.
perhaps these are the “moderates” you were referring to.
many of the [Islamic] religious leaders believe that the [Jews’] punishment of Fire is in this world, before the next world… therefore we are sure that the Holocaust is still to come upon the Jews.” [Sheikh Yunus Al-Astal, Hamas MP, in his regular column in Al-Rissala, (Hamas weekly) March 13, 2008]
“Regarding the Jews, our business with them is only through bombs and guns… the prophet [Muhammad] promised that we will fight you, with Allah’s help, until the tree and stone say: “Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.”
[Nizar Rayan, Hamas religious and military leader, Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), Jan. 1, 2009. Note: Rayan was killed on Jan. 2, 2009]
everyone will know that we did this only because our Lord commanded so: ‘I did it not of my own accord’ [Quran] and so that people will know that the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the worlds.”
[Al-Rissala, (Hamas weekly) April 23, 2007]
Hamas write in Article 7 of the Hamas Charter:
“Hamas has been looking forward to implement Allah’s promise whatever time it might take. The prophet [Muhammad] said: ‘The time (of Resurrection) will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: 0 Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him!’”
One way a washed-out eighties singer can get their gob on television and raise their profile without the indignity of appearing on I’m a Celeb…:
http://joshuapundit.blogspot.com/2009/01/brit-has-been-annie-lennox-shows-why.html
Unfortunately the interviewer brings up that it was Hamas who broke the ceasefire and launched barrages of rockets into Israel, to which this vacuous airhead had absolutely no answer, no suggestions, no nothing…
Someday, when hell starts to get a bit cold, BBC interviewers will ask questions this way…
Israel are taking a hard line with people who lob rockets at them. The BBC takes a hard line with those who don’t want to pay it for the privelege of watching TV, any TV, with ads about databases, fines and criminal records.
Let the BBC show how it is capable of compromise on the petty issue of the funding of trash like Eastenders before it starts telling us of ways wars can be ended by agreements between reasonable people.
Andy | 06.01.09 – 2:42 pm |
If these so-called journalists just asked a simple question – “Why do you think the opinion of a 80s pop star has any more relevance then anyone else?”
and this perhaps it is so potent that it cannot leave any room for accords and eventually applies also to the west.
The Hamas belief that Jews must be killed for redemption to occur is a repeating theme of religious leaders on Palestinian Authority (Fatah) and Hamas TV. The following is one example:
“‘The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: ‘Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!’ We must remind our Arab and Muslim nation, its leaders and people, its scholars and students, remind them that Palestine and the Al Aqsa mosque will not be liberated through summits nor by international resolutions, but it will be liberated through the rifle.”
[Hamas Spokesman, Dr. Ismail Radwan, PA TV, March 30, 2007]
only the massacring of jews demanded by Allah will bring holy redemption.
Allan@Oslo
48.5% of the population of the Gaza Strip are under 14 years of age (2nd highest in world)…. so yes, they do breed like rabbits.
No figures given for under 18s but it should surprise no one that an explosion in Gaza is more likely to kill a child than in every other country ( except Uganda )
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_age_str_0_14_yea-age-structure-0-14-years
I’ve not been able to get to any of the recent protests, though I see on YouTube that they are very large, quite alarming, and unreported on the MSM.
Has anyone been able to get to these protests? If so, what percentage of protesters have been Marxists and what percentage Islamist?
HAMAS: where the BBC’s political sympathies are-
“Killing their own” (Jacob Laksin)
[Extract]:
“From reprimands of ‘disproportionate response’ to condemnations of civilian casualties, Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has drawn de rigueur denunciations from the international community. Less noticed is that while Israel has taken great pains to avoid innocent deaths in Operation Cast Lead, at great peril to its fighting men and women, Hamas vigilantes have spent recent days deliberately assaulting and killing their fellow Palestinians, just as they have done for years.
“According to the ‘Jerusalem Post’, since the beginning of the Israeli offensive, more than 75 Gaza Palestinians have been shot in the legs or have had their hands broken; more than 35 have been executed by Hamas operatives who accuse them of being Israeli ‘collaborators.’ Of course, Gaza is not teeming with Israeli spies and most of Hamas’s victims are not only not traitors but likely helped vote the terrorist group into power in the January 2006 legislative elections. Instead, Hamas’s campaign of homegrown terror is the latest example of the terrorists turning on their Palestinian compatriots • a brutal but seldom-discussed cycle of violence in which Palestinians emerge as their own worst enemy.”
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=61CDF0F5-1D10-4E6F-8289-A0E91EF4F5D5
Latest Headline on the website of the National Socialist State Broadcaster:
At least 40 people have been killed in an Israeli air strike on an United Nations-run school in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources have said.
A number of children were among those who died when the al-Falluj school in the Jabaliya refugee camp took a direct hit, doctors at nearby hospitals said.
Latest UN estimate of dead:
3 men hiding in building.
Crowded Gaza video.
Excuse me for my ignorance David: are you suggesting that the comparison is ridiculous for some reason I can’t figure out, or are you suggesting that there are no moderates in Hamas? If the latter, then have you any evidence of this?
ipreferred | 06.01.09 – 9:33 am
Go and ask Fatah how many moderates there are in Hamas if you don’t believe the Israelis. It’s only the BBC and other Islamist media outlets who accept such ridiculous claims at face value.
Can you imagine if the bunch of rent boy using twats at the BBC were commentating on the RAF bombing of Germany?
The BBC would be showing pictures of Germans and how the evil British were oppressing them and how we need to negotiate with the more moderate elements of the Nazi party.
Or that the bombing of Germany won’t have any effect and that we should be looking to negotiate with Germany and after all Hitler was ‘elected’ by the German people just as ‘Hamas’ got elected.
Hint to the BBC and the Pali’s . If you want the Israelis to stop, SURRENDER or die.
One of his arguments appeared to be that the Palestinians’ only desire, and only requirement for peace, is for Israel to return to the pre 1967 ‘borders’
Quite apart from anything else one might say about this nonsense, THIS IS NOT WHAT HAMAS SAYS, for Pete’s sake.
It’s not a total faux analogy with NI, you are wanting to punish people because of who they vote for, that is not a sensible stand to take…..
Forgotten to switch on your brain this morning?
There is the minor matter of rockets murdering Israeli citizens.
Ever heard of Sderot? No? How about Ashkelon, then?
Martin re WW2 reporting:
Have you seen this?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-lewis/stop-this-vicious-slaught_b_155039.html
and everyone should read this:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/3210031/the-hamas-broadcasting-corporation-ctd.thtml
Do I have to take sides :P? Both are rather difficult to support.
Yes, I know, it’s a tough one, innit? On the one hand, Islamo-Nazi terrorists bent on exterminating Jews. On the other, Jews trying to live in their own country. What a conundrum.
George R 3:29
Nice to see that, when it comes to terrorism, HAMAS doesn’t distinguish between Israelis and Palestinians !
La Cumparsita: Nice one. Thing is the BBC would act just like that.
Funny thing is the BBC seem to think that the Israelis targeted this school on purpose. Perhaps they did, but being as they also targeted a house containing loads of their own soldiers it sound more like the fog of war to me.
If Hamas want the killing to stop. Surrender.
DeeGee,
That’s a great video – I have cross posted on my own site.
ipreffered 1:54
“Do I have to take sides ?”. Of course not, but I find terrorist organisations like HAMAS, which have Genocide written into their Constitutions, regulary torture and murder their own people, use women and children as human shields and suicide bombers and hide weapons in mosques a little more unpleasant than the Israelis.
I don’t have to take sides either, but am happy to side with the Israelis and feel sorry for anyone who thinks there is a moral equivalence between them and HAMAS.
Got to take a look at the link below! Al-Beeb’s attempt to explain the history of the Middle East in maps. My favourite line is on Map 3: “…After Britain withdrew and the Jews declared the state of Israel, war broke out with neighbouring Arab nations. Eight months later an armistice line was agreed, establishing the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the control of Jordan and Egypt…”
War ‘broke out’! ‘The Jews declared the state of Israel!’
I think what they mean is that after the UN established the state of Israel five of its friendly neighbours decided to invade to drive the Jews into the sea!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7380642.stm
Jeremy Bowen tells us that “Israel’s ban on the entry of international journalists to the Gaza Strip means that we can’t originate very much of our own material from there.” so the BBC has to rely on others to do its reporting for it.
Just curious, but has any genuine BBC reporter (ie not a local stringer) tried to enter Gaza from Egypt? And if not, why not? Is Egypt also preventing the international press from entering Gaza? Perhaps the BBC has reported this (and Egypt’s justification) but, if so, I can’t find any mention on the BBC websites.
David/DeeGee
Just seen the video, great. Where did it come from ? BBC 6 o’clock news ?
Debka:
The Palestinians report 30 civilians were killed, 55 injured, sheltering in two UNWRA-run schools bombed from the air and by tank artillery. The schools had been Hamas strongholds, the Israeli military said.
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5831
Mike,
That one is one of very many such distortions that I have highlighted here on previous occasions (but it bears repeating, of course, so thanks 😉 .)
PS.
I do have to take issue with this, though:
after the UN established the state of Israel
The UN didn’t establish Israel. The Jews did. The UN voted in favour of partition, yes. But all the actual establishing, going back 80 years before 1948, was by Jews.
We hear sometimes, from the usual suspects, that ‘the UN / Britain / the world / … (fill in the dots as required) gave those ungrateful Joos a country’. Please don’t fall into this trap. 😉
Nearly Oxfordian:
Do I have to take sides :P? Both are rather difficult to support.
Yes, I know, it’s a tough one, innit? On the one hand, Islamo-Nazi terrorists bent on exterminating Jews.
Yes and then comes the rest of us (non-muslims).
I came across a bit of an interview with an Iranian woman on Desert Island Discs last week.
She was a left wing nutter (well, Marxist Revolutionist) in Iran and was soooo happy when the Shah was overtaken by the Ayatollahs. But she got to the UK and then later had to experience the misery of reading about all her lefty friends (who thought they’d be leading the country) being killed by the Islamic mullahs.
She’s still a muslim though! The Iranians doing these horrible things – well, they just don’t understand Islam.
And this woman is in the House of Lords .
She was a left wing nutter (well, Marxist Revolutionist) in Iran and was soooo happy when the Shah was overtaken by the Ayatollahs
Well, then she certainly was a nutter. Did she think those Stone Age clerico-fascists would support a Marxist revolution?
Being a nutter is an excellent qualification for being a ‘Labour’ peer.
Apparently there is evidence that mortars were fired from the school before it was hit (killing 30 people, including children) and that the secondary explosions that caused most killing were triggered by booby traps….
…. wonder when this will appear in Al Beeb’s front page.
Probably never.
I bet the BBC doesn’t put this link relevant to today’s news in its sidebar:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7087002.stm
Michelle Malkin has the video:
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/06/about-that-israeli-strike-on-the-un-school/
Sebastian Weetabix
“It isn’t enough to be right, because ultimately Israel cannot survive alone. The long term gameplan from our peace-loving Muslim brothers is to isolate Israel and cut off support. Marching into Gaza in this way assists that aim.”
Much as it ires me to agree, this, ostensibly is precisely what’s happening. Modern politicians and diplomats know about Clauswitzian war philosophy and so does Hamas.
It doesn’t stand up to every example but Clauswitz spelled out that “the people” MUST be behind the war effort (in this case Israelis are, but, in the UK, listening to the BBC, you have to wonder about the wider world). The people’s support (or ‘popular support’) is the lynchpin of the effort.
Israel, through very little fault of its own, and thanks in part to BBC misinformation, is losing this particular battle of hearts and minds.
On the Guardian website (and others) I’ve come across many who simply repeat “facts” they’ve heard in the BBC; testament to the very real propaganda the BBC is churning out day in, day out, against its own guidelines.
What is it with British politicians who keep saying that there can be no military solution all the time?
Didn’t we sort out the Germans and Japanese in a military way?
You crush your enemy by being ruthless and unrelenting. clearly none of our fat useless cowards in suits have.
Anyone noticed how similar these two wankers look? Two cheeks of the same backside perhaps?
http://www.groupcsa.com/csa/photos/large/Jeremy_Bowen.jpg
http://www.grassrootspeace.org/images/george_galloway_dc_092405/galloway_podium_091.jpg
Talking of the Guardian, has anyone dared to read this CiF thread?
This brutality will never break our will to be free
For six months we in Hamas observed the ceasefire. Israel broke it repeatedly from the start
by Kalid Mish’al.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/06/gaza-israel-hamas?showallcomments=true
I’ve never seen such utter hatred for Israel in a British newspaper before. Pure bile from the comments. It both angers & scares me that we have so many ignorant & vicious people in this country. I’ve read many apiece there before including the Lebannon war articles, but this is different. Please try to read at least the first page, it will make your blood boil.
This is your legacy BBC!!!!!!
bill 6:32
I didn’t read the article and only the first 10 or so comments, but most seemed critical of Hamas and many had been removed by the moderator. Maybe these are ones you read before they were removed.
Did anyone see the ITN news, where a female Israeli army major tore ITN’s reporter a new arsehole? Absolutely beautiful to watch!
Hi all, first post, regular reader.
I actually caught this item this morning. The “history” started with the 1967 war, then promptly skipped 30yrs to 2005!
Laughable, those BBC’rs must think people are stupid.
Wankers
(Sorry about the swearing if its not allowed)
(Sorry about the swearing if its not allowed)
Ironside | 06.01.09 – 7:13 pm
Swearing’s fine. Just don’t mention bum-boys, rent boys, fudge packers or any other derogatory term to describe gays – Martin has that sewn up.
Not related to BBC bias.
Biodegradable | 06.01.09 – 2:30 pm | #
I followed your link to LGF and noted the site they link to is pointing the finger at photog by the name of Mohammed Salem. I think to his name they should add that of Khalil Hamra, his name appears on an awful lot of the photos, and I also noted with interest two other photogs who surnames are Amara and Kamara. A quick google of Khalil Hamra’s name turned up this little nugget –
“”While the subjects of a photographer do not necessarily indicate his sympathies, we note from a 10 June 2002 statement by the Foreign Press Association that Khalil Hamra of Rafah was jailed for several days in 2002 by the Israeli Defense Force while working for Reuters in Ramallah. IDF spokesmen explained that the arrest was due to suspicions that linked him to terror activities””
http://www.geocities.com/fightinghate/KhalilHamra-may04.html
Ironside,
Welcome and hope you comment more!
Ironside 7:13
Welcome ! As to swearing, you have a long way to go to catch up with Martin, who posts here regularly !
glj 7:23
Well researched. In other contexts, I have come across journalists and photographers who have had an unpleasant experience in certain countries and spend the rest of their lives trying to get revenge without ever referring to the original incident.
Hell hath no fury like a journalist scorned !
Hell hath no fury like a journalist scorned !
Grant | 06.01.09 – 7:49 pm
Al Bowen being a prime example.
Martin is right and Ross is wrong.
And if I hear this idiotic phrase ‘hearts and minds’ one more time, I’ll throw something heavy at my TV screen – or the computer.
Sod the Arabs’ hearts and minds. It’s their hands we need to chop off – the hands that launch rockets. That’s what the IDF is doing.
Just don’t mention bum-boys, rent boys, fudge packers or any other derogatory term to describe gays – Martin has that sewn up
Yes, the vicious and ignorant hatred displayed here against gays is on a par with the antisemitism you see in the Guardian.
Biodegradable:
“…Swearing’s fine. Just don’t mention bum-boys, rent boys, fudge packers or any other derogatory term to describe gays – Martin has that sewn up…”
If only we could get Peter Mandelson sewn up. Oh the joy.