Independent’s coverage of Palestinian terror again highlights perpetrator’s family

Last Thursday, Oct. 17, a Palestinian named Younes al-Radaideh, from Beit Hanina, rammed a tractor he was driving into an IDF base north of Jerusalem in an attempted terror attack. He succeeded in breaking through the fence and rammed into buildings and several vehicles, injuring one Israeli, before being shot and killed by two soldiers.

Reports indicate that Younes al-Radaideh is the brother of Marei al-Radaideh, the man who carried out another terror attack involving a tractor in March, 2009, in Jerusalem.

The Independent’s coverage of this latest terror incident consisted of the following photo (and accompanying caption) in a photo story titled ‘Pictures of the day: West Bank simmers as Palestinian anger builds in face of occupation’.

The caption reads: 

A relative shows a picture of Palestinian Yunes Ahmed al-Radaydeh, the construction worker who was shot dead after forcing his way into a West Bank army base.

In addition to the misleading nature of the caption – which seriously downplayed the potentially lethal attack – the Indy’s decision to highlight the family of the perpetrator mirrors their use of photos in a story on July 28 about Israel’s decision to release 104 Palestinian ‘pre-Oslo’ prisoners – a group largely consisting of terrorists who murdered or attempted to murder Israeli citizens.

Here’s the July 28 caption:

The mother of Palestinian Ateya Abu Moussa, who has been held prisoner by Israel for 20 years, hugs her grandson upon hearing the news that her son may soon be released

Additionally, when the first 26 Palestinian prisoners – out of the larger group of 104 – were released the following month (a group which included Ateya Abu Moussa), the Indy covered the story with another photo series depicting the reaction of Palestinian family members.  Here’s the photo they used to illustrate Ateya Abu Moussa’s release:

The caption reads:

Freed Palestinian prisoner Ateya Abu Moussa (3rd R), who was held by Israel for 20 years, hugs his father upon arriving at his family’s house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip

The Indy evidently didn’t deem it worthy to note that Ateya Abu Moussa had been imprisoned for murdering an Israeli Holocaust survivor named Isaac Rotenberg in 1994.

Whilst, fortunately, no Israelis were killed in the terror incident on Thursday, the decision by Indy editors to again highlight the attacker’s family represents another example of the moral inversion continually on display in British media coverage of Palestinians who attempt to murder Israeli citizens.

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