Hamas in Jenin: Pictures the BBC will NOT show.

On December 18th 2013 the BBC News website published an article pertaining to a counter-terrorism operation in Jenin during which Nafe a-Sa’adi was killed when Israeli soldiers trying to make an arrest were attacked by a mob.

At the time we noted here that the BBC chose to place the term counter-terrorism in scare quotes both in the sub-heading and in the body of the report, suggesting to audiences that there was room for scepticism with regard to the nature and definition of the operation.

“A Palestinian man is killed and at least four wounded after Israeli troops launch a “counter terrorism” operation in the West Bank.”

“Israel said its forces opened fire after being attacked during “counter terrorism activity” in the camp.”

On January 26th a memorial event for Sa’adi was held in the Jenin refugee camp, with armed members of Hamas’ al Qassam brigades making a rare centre-stage appearance. Photographs from the event can be seen here and here.

BBC audiences are of course highly unlikely to be shown such photographs or to be informed of the significance of public appearances by armed members of a terrorist organisation in a Palestinian Authority controlled region which lies within walking distance of the nearest Israeli communities.  

Instead, their ability to form an understanding of the security issues facing Israel – and hence also of any preventative actions taken – is shaped by an editorial policy based upon the patchy reporting of selected incidents (more often than not those involving fatalities) in isolation from the picture as a whole, the omission of any reporting on numerous other incidents and the promotion of a narrative which plays down the existence and scale of terrorism even through choice of language and punctuation.

BBC Watch.org

Ya'alon: No one is talking Iran's terror activities in Iraq, Syria or Gaza

Defense minister tells conference that peace in Mideast will achieved through economic development, says there is no apartheid in Israel, which is victim of 'delegitimization campaign based on a false Palestinian narrative'.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon warned Tuesday of the world's lack of awareness of Iran's support of terror, saying that the Islamic republic is conning the international community about its true intentions

 

"No one is talking about the terror (Iran) is nurturing in Iraq or Syria or through the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Its aim, the formation of a Shi'ite-Iranian caliphate, has not changed. They are deceiving the international community. It is a messianic and apocalyptic regime that denies Israel's existence – and this is the number one threat to the world and the region."

 

Regarding the Geneva agreement between Iran and world powers over the former's nuclear ambitions, Ya'alon warned that the pressure on Iran had been lifted when an interim agreement was signed in November.

Ya'alon, who made his comments at a conference on security at the Institute for National Security Studies, said the Middle East is changing, thanks to the power of the street.

 

"The era of dictators' reign is over," he said. "We've seen the attempt at Hamastan in Gaza, and in Egypt the people topped the Muslim Brotherhood... (People) want democracy and peace now, but it doesn't work like that. We're looking at the long-term."

 

He also lashed out at critics in Israel, saying the world was influenced by a "delegitimization campaign which is based on a false Palestinian narrative." He adamantly rejected accusations of apartheid, arguing that the country's sole motivation was to defend its population.

 

"If this is apartheid, why are the Africans coming here? Enough with the lies. We have already said we have no desire to control (the Palestinians). I was the Judea and Samaria commander in 1993-1992 and I supported Oslo and until today I think human life is more valuable than land. But until we returned to Jenin (during a major 2003 IDF operation) all we got was terror attacks… it was unstable. Those who say 'get out of there and will be peace,' I can prove that they are mistaken."

 

Regarding the conflict with the Palestinians, Ya'alon said 2013 was an especially calm year, in which Israel was not forced to engage in any massive military operations. Economic development, he said, was the key to maintaining this quiet.

"Deep focus on economic development and the (Palestinians') ability to influence the world economy is what will foster change. The people

have become an important actor. There is the media and an influx of ideas that influence the people, and it has reached the street. The economy is a leading factor in pushing people onto the street. Iran is now talking with America, which what it calls the great satan, only for economic reasons. This is key to understanding developments in the Middle East."

 

He also warned of a new US shift to "distancing itself from conflict regions. It is no longer keen on being the world's policeman, and as a superpower it is challenged in Syria by Russia, and in Asia by China. But there is no one willing to step into its shoes. We need to take into account that for good or ill, the US is less dependent on Middle East oil."

 

The defense minister caused a storm last week after he was quoted as saying US Secretary of State John Kerry's proposed security arrangements for a framework agreement with the Palestinians was "not worth the paper it was written on" and that Kerry's efforts to make peace were "obsessive" and "messianic."

Ynet news 

YouTube blocks PMW video that exposes Fatah publicizing threats to kidnap, kill, and bomb Israelis by terror organization Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - the military wing of Fatah

YouTube did not remove this same video
from Fatah's YouTube account
where it continues to incite to murder

Once again, YouTube has decided to block one of Palestinian Media Watch's videos. Recently, PMW exposed that Fatah, on its official Facebook Page, publicized threats to kidnap, kill, and bomb Israelis by terror organization Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - the military wing of Fatah. 

The following are excerpts from the Fatah video:

"Bombard them with your fire and shoot them... Praise Allah, our Jihad fighters have managed to develop these rockets so they will reach the Zionist depth [Israel]... We in the Al-Aqsa Brigades are preparing to kidnap Zionist soldiers to settle accounts with the Zionist enemy... Be like Yasser [Arafat] - do not fear them. Death is in your cup - make them drink... With these rockets we will crush the Zionist enemy."

[Facebook, "Fatah - The Main Page," Nov. 17, 2013]

Click to view English version of video

Now, YouTube has decided to block PMW's Hebrew version of this video, claiming the video violates YouTube's "policy on depiction of harmful activities."

The irony is that while YouTube removed the video from PMW's YouTube account - where PMW exposed the incitement to murder - YouTube has not removed it from the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades account in Arabic. It still remains on Fatah's YouTube account, where it is intended as incitement to murder.

Click to view the original Fatah video.

PMW does not promote or engage in "harmful activities," but exposes PA and Fatah hate speech, promotion of violence and glorification of terrorists in order to bring about its elimination.

Sadly, this is not the first time PMW's documentation has been impeded by YouTube. In the past, PMW videos have been blocked and PMW's YouTube account has been closed down.

This happened when PMW exposed hate speech voiced by the PA Mufti, who preached that the destiny of Muslims is tokill Jews, and again recently when PMW exposed a PA TV broadcast of a young girl reciting a poem referring to Jews as "Allah's enemies, the sons of pigs," who "murdered children," "cut off their limbs," "raped the women in the city squares" and "defiled Allah's book."

Thanks to some of PMW's readers who contacted YouTube, PMW videos and accounts were later unblocked each time.

Once again, PMW has requested that YouTube return the video. PMW has no direct line of contact with YouTube administrators, other than their standard appeal option on their website. Therefore, we ask anyone who has contacts at YouTube to please help encourage YouTube to make our video accessible again

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Click to contribute to PMW's year-end campaign

BLOG OPINION : BBC bias belittles aggression and criminalises legitimacy

It's amazing and mind boggling the double standards of the UN and western media, not forgetting the Obama administration and EU. 

An Israeli soldier has been shot from across the Lebanon border, in a clear act of international violation, yet nobody has anything to say, not a whisper, or squeak from anyone. 

Now imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and an Israeli soldier had shot a Lebanese soldier from a cross the border? Imagine the condemnation from the Arab cartel from within the UN; the EU would be demanding boycotts and sanctions and the US under the direction of the appeaser in chief, Kerry, would be demanding all sorts of 'concessions' from Israel as compensation. 

But when it happens against Israel everyone are suddenly looking at the floor then. Suddenly, the fact that an international violation has occurred, seems not so bad.

Meanwhile the BBC are reporting the whole incident in their usual bias anti Israel fashion. In the BBCs view the whole focus was on the Israeli response and the fact that two Lebanese soldiers had been taken out of action after the original incident. 

The BBC headline read "Troops shot on Israel-Lebanon border" meaning Lebanese troops shot 'after' the fact that an innocent Israeli soldier was initially killed in an act of clear aggression. 

The fact that the Lebanese casualties were only wounded and not killed didn't really get much of a mention. One got the impression that the BBC was a little bit put out by this and they would have been much happier if the casualties had taken a head shot each with all the blood and splattered brain included, then they couldn't have had something even juicier to report and blacken Israel's name with.  

The BBC story then ran its usual biased course and during the write up it stated "There is no word on their condition and Lebanon has not yet commented....." Referring to the condition of the two Lebanese soldiers - how touching and caring of the BBC .

But when it came to the shooting of the Israeli soldier the BBC stated: "The shooting came after the 31-year-old Israeli soldier was 'fatally wounded' when his vehicle was hit by up to seven shots fired from Lebanon. 

Yes you heard right, "fatally wounded" - The BBC can't even bring itself to admit the Israeli soldier was killed, so they decided to gloss it over with a posh word to make it sound not so bad.

But when it comes to the Israeli response it's a clear case of Israeli aggression and that they "shot" two Lebanese soldiers. The whole layout is worded in a way that it sounds as if the Israelis were being somehow obstructive , aggressive and unreasonable. 

But look at this bit:

"An Israeli army spokeswoman said Israeli troops opened fire after noticing "suspicious movement".

You see how the BBC highlighted the "Suspicious movement" bit, hinting that somehow the Israeli suggestion could be somehow a lie, a false statement and an excuse to be 'aggressive'. 

The BBC is a public funded enterprise and instead of being fair, balanced to its readers and listeners it reports biasedly, unfairly and it clearly takes sides. 

This latest biased reporting of a clear act if aggression against Israel just proves that the public funding the BBC receives is funding a corporation if anti Semites and thus giving evil a platform to Israel's and the free worlds enemies to spread its tentacles into every household. 

"Only anti Israel need to apply " : UN job application question points to pro-Palestinian bias, watchdog says

 

UN Watch said in a press statement that the OHCHR had posed the question to applicants seeking an entry-level position.

Looking for a job at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva? You might have to prove you support the Palestinians first, according to watchdog organization UN Watch.

On Tuesday, UN Watch unveiled a written exam question it obtained from the OHCHR that the watchdog group says was administered to job applicants two years ago.

Here is the question, reproduced in full on UN Watch’s blog: “WRITTEN EXERCISE “The Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Adequate Housing, on the Rights to Water and Sanitation and on the Right to Food have been sending allegation letters to Israel raising concerns about the demolition of houses, water tanks and agricultural structures in the West Bank throughout 2011.

NGOs and UN actors are encouraging them to issue a press release on their concerns.

At the same time, the Palestinian request for recognition of statehood is being discussed at the Security Council and General Assembly.

“1. Please choose either exercise 1.a. or exercise 1.b. [maximum 700 words]: 1.a. Please draft a briefing note for the Chief of the Special Procedures Branch, who would like to advise the three mandate holders on the pros and cons of issuing such a press release and its timing.

“OR 1.b. Please draft speaking notes for one of the three mandate holders (your choice) to be used if a journalist wishes to follow up with a telephone interview.

“2. Please draft a concept note (substance, format, possible participants and audience, steps needed, etc) for the organization of a side event on this topic, to be held during the presentation of special procedure reports to the General Assembly, which could be shared with States that may wish to sponsor such an event [maximum 1,500 words].”

UN Watch said in a press statement that the OHCHR had posed this question to applicants seeking an entry-level position.

“Because the exam obviously reflects the real-life working methods of the OHCHR, it also reveals a level of professional complicity in the bias of the UN’s political bodies that was not hitherto documented,” the watchdog group’s executive director, Hillel Neuer, said in the press statement. “This is the office that helped produce the notoriously biased Goldstone Report, and now we know how they hire their staff.”

In response, OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville told UN Watch that it was “quite possible” other countries had been used in other writing tests, but given that in the office’s 20 years, “hundreds of such tests have taken place all across the world for a wide range of jobs,” it was impossible to determine how many times this specific question had been administered.

Colville maintained that the tests “are of no importance per se, but only for what they reveal about a particular candidate’s capabilities.”

The OHCHR did not respond to a request from The Jerusalem Post for comment or for verification of whether this was a former question job applicants had received.

The Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment, either.

On Tuesday, the OCHCR marked the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which established a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society…shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for [human] rights and freedoms and by progressive measures.” 

Jeruselam post

British singer Sir Tom Jones speaks out in support of Israel and against anti-Israel protesters

Sir Tom Jones says entertainers should ignore calls to boycott Israel because of its treatment of Palestinians

When Sir Tom Jones announced that he was to sing in Israel, he declined to respond to protesters who urged him to boycott the country because of its treatment of Palestinians.

Now that the singer has performed his concerts, he has decided to speak out against the campaign which has seen musicians including Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd, Annie Lennox and Elvis Costello refuse to visit.

“I was in Israel two weeks ago, where a lot of singers won’t go,” says the entertainer, whose hits include It’s Not Unusual, Delilah and The Green, Green Grass of Home. “I don’t agree with that. I think entertainers should entertain. They should go wherever – there shouldn’t be any restrictions. I did two shows in Tel Aviv, and it was fantastic.”

Speaking at the annual dinner of Norwood, a charity supporting vulnerable children, families and people with learning disabilities, Sir Tom tellsThe Jewish News: “I wanted to go, because the Israeli people asked me. They would like me to sing, and I don’t see any problem in doing that. I don’t see why anyone would mix up the two things – entertainment and politics.”

Earlier this year, Waters called on fellow rock stars to boycott Israel. It came as an increasing number of musicians are refusing to perform there. Costello and Lennox are among the British musicians reported to have said they will no longer play concerts in Israel.

In his letter, Waters recounted how he successfully persuaded Stevie Wonder, the American singer, to cancel a fundraising concert for the Israeli Defence Forces last year.

This year, Stephen Hawking, the British physicist and author of A Brief History of Time, cancelled his engagement at a conference hosted by Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, after saying he had been persuaded by arguments presented from fellow academics about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

Sir Tom, who is a judge on the BBC talent contestThe Voice, says he wants to return to Israel, where the Welsh singer performed at the end of last month, his first visit in more than a decade.

The Cardiff Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s petition had urged him to cancel, garnering 2,000 signatures. “Please don’t whitewash Israel’s apartheid policies against Palestinians!” the petition read. “A performance in Israel today is akin to a performance in apartheid South Africa.”

Telegraph 

Veteran Left wing Liberal British parliamentarian says ‘Israel ignoredTen Commandments’

Israel could have been a force for good had it obeyed “their own Ten Commandments and half the stuff in the Old Testament,” a veteran British parliamentarian claimed at an event in Parliament.

Jenny Tonge, a controversial member of the upper house of Parliament who was expelled by the Liberal Democrat party for her anti-Israel activism, was speaking at an event in Parliament hosted by the anti-Israel group Palestinian Return Center.

The event, part of the group’s ongoing “Britain, It’s Time To Apologize, International Balfour Campaign,” marked the 96th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the plan for a Jewish homeland that became Israel, by having a number of anti-Israel parliamentarians apologize for Britain’s role.

Tonge apologized for the declaration and accused Israel of being a “threat to world peace and to itself.”

Writing about the event, blogger Richard Millet said that Tonge claimed that Israel is referred to as a Jewish state to help silence its critics.

“We must take on the pro-Israel lobby, we will not be silenced,” Tonge said. “We are not anti-Semitic, we are anti-injustice. What happened to the Palestinians is the greatest injustice of the past 100 years.”

Tonge said that pro-Israel lobbyists “are clever. They call it the Jewish state of Israel so if you criticize the Jewish state they say you are criticizing Jews and that you are anti-Semitic. But it is directed against the Israeli government, not the Jewish people. Many Jews join us,” she added.

Also speaking at the event was Liberal Democrat MP David Ward, who had been suspended by his own party during the summer for comments targeting the Jewish people.

He apologized for the Balfour Declaration, as did Labor MP Jeremy Corbyn, who described it as a “historical mistake by Britain.”

According to Millet, Ward also claimed in his speech that his suspension was based on something that he did not say.

Ward explained, “I didn’t say Israel shouldn’t exist, but that it should never have been created. I said it was an apartheid state,” Ward said.

Millet noted that the anti-Israel MP had made an about-face from a previous viewpoint: “In July, he tweeted that ‘the Zionists are losing the battle – how long can the apartheid State of Israel last?’... And last night he said, ‘Israel is winning. We are losing hands down.’ His main concern was that there is no proper plan to counteract this.”

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, Ward questioned how Jews “could within a few years of liberation from the death camps, be inflicting atrocities on Palestinians in the new State of Israel.”

Also speaking at the Palestinian Return Center event was Nazir Ahmed, one of the first Muslim members of the House of Lords.

In 2009, Ahmed was jailed for causing a deadly road accident while texting behind the wheel. In March, The Times discovered a speech he gave in Pakistan in which he blamed his prison sentence on pressure applied on the court by Jews “who own newspapers and television channels.”

Speaking last night, Ahmed said “we have a great moral responsibility” and “a huge burden on our conscience” as a result of the Balfour Declaration.

“East Jerusalem is being evacuated slowly, there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people,” he claimed.

“Whether they are Christian or they are Muslim they are being thrown out of their own country,” he continued.

Last year, the Labor Party suspended Ahmed following reports that he offered a £10 million bounty for the capture of US President Barack Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush. 

Jerusalem post 

SHOCKING Bias of the BBC in their anti-Israel and pro-Palstinian reporting

The BBC, yet again, has shown its anti-Israel credentials in its latest report on the Terrorist releases from prison and the so-called settlement building in East Jerusalem. This blog has dissected this latest BBC anti Israel trade and placed in our own comments.

For your reference the BBC's report is included in 'Italic Courier' whilst our replies to their sentences are included in 'Arial normal non Italic' replies. We hope you enjoy the report and our comments.


The Report is as follows :


BBC report begins

"Israel has announced plans to build new homes in a Jewish settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, hours after freeing 26 Palestinian prisoners".


This Blog

The BBC still endlessly continues to refer to East Jerusalem as 'Occupied' - the fact that it was occupied beforehand and liberated back to the Jewish people is something the 'BBC' overlooks. History, biblical proof and even religious references proving beyond doubt that Israel is the Jewish homeland and Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish world is lost upon the self interested little lefties at the BBC. They would almost certainly laugh at this last statement, totally disregarding the Jewish faith, whilst at the same time bending over backwards to accommodate Islamic sentiment and concerns. 


BBC

Officials said the construction of 1,500 housing units at Ramat Shlomo was one of four projects given approval.
The Palestinian Authority said the move was "destructive to peace efforts".


This Blog
So the PA considers it Destructive does it? We wonder if the PA is also concerned about the destructive nature of shooting 9 year old Israeli children in the neck? Or sadistically butchering Israeli soldiers after kidnapping them? Or firing thousands or Rockets into Israel from their friends in Gaza, hitting schools, civilian dwellings and murdering and maiming thousands? Does the PA feel the same concern that one of their 'citizens' threw a grenade last week on a school bus? Or the countless other murders committed by those acting on behalf of this tin pot little administration? Better still does the BBC feel any worry or concern?  


BBC
"It is believed to be an attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to assuage anger in Israel at the release of the long-term prisoners overnight".


This Blog
NOTHING could 'assuage' the anger at the release of these barbaric murderers, rapists, murders of children and the butchers of future innocents, as inevitably will be the case. So for the BBC to argue that somehow Benjamin Netanyahu was trying divert attention just shows the depths of their own morality and thinking.


BBC
"The convicted murderers were freed as part of a US-brokered agreement to resume direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after a three-year hiatus".


This Blog
CONVICTED MURDERERS  is the right word! It was a US brokered 'Deal' struck to appease the cry babies of the PA who are never content with any deal for long before they're demanding yet more concessions. It was a deal struck by the Obama administration, supported by the EU and UK, that has effectively put Israel in an even more perilous situation and has given Israel's enemies more 'Skilled' terrorists to cause havoc, murder and maim. It was a deal struck that was all weighed heavily on the so-called Palestinian side and was biased in every way detrimental to Israel's interests.  


BBC
"The men - the second of four groups to be released over nine months - were welcomed by thousands of people in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas".


This Blog
Yes this is very true. The 'peace loving' Palestinians were seen dancing in the street, chanting insults at Israel, burning Israeli flags, hanging by the neck effigies of Israelis and Jews, Shouting 'death to Jews'  'Israel will burn in hell fire'  and many other enchanting words of peace.

'Worried'


BBC
"On Wednesday morning, the Israeli interior ministry placed an advert in a Jerusalem newspaper announcing that it was pressing ahead with a project to expand Ramat Shlomo.
The plans, which were approved by the Jerusalem district planning committee in September 2011, include the construction of 1,531 housing units, public buildings and gardens.
The government also approved the development of a tourism and archaeology centre near Jerusalem's sensitive Old City, as well as plans for the establishment of a national park on Mount Scopus in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem campus.
An estimated 200,000 settlers currently live in East Jerusalem, alongside 370,000 Palestinians".


This Blog
The bit about the 'settlers' is a bit confusing because if anything the settlers are the Palestinians. Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people, like mecca is the capital of Islam. Would the BBC refer the Muslims as settlers living near Mecca if, for example, the remains of a synagogue was discovered near to Mecca and Jews demanded that the area was a place for Jewish worship?


BBC
"Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war and formally annexed the area in 1980. Settlements built there and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this".


This Blog

Israel 'captured' East Jerusalem.....The BBC just don't get it do they? Or 'Annexed' and again 'Occupied' - then the words 'Illegal' and finally that good old 'international law' - Oh and naturally Israel disputes this....Um we wonder why?

The BBC is so desperately trying to place Israel into a category Israel is not. Israel is a democratic, law abiding, humane, modern Western country. Its citizens are equal as in any western country, discrimination is illegal, like in any civilised country and the law protects everyone, Jew, Christian, and Muslim alike. The Israeli Defence Forces accepts Jews, Christians and Muslims and all serve Israel proudly. So why is it that this vile corporation called the BBC continue to vilify, lie about and try to destroy the decent reputation of this only middle eastern democracy? Why? Why doesn't it treat the nations around Israel with the same scorn? Why doesn't it talk about the 'Occupied' territory of Gaza that was stolen from Israel in yet another deal 'Brokered' by the US in 2005 and since used as a rocket launch pad by Hamas to kill Israeli women and children? Why doesn't the BBC talk about the 'Illegal' activities of the PA and Hamas, like smuggling through tunnels, harbouring terrorists, making public hate speech's boasting of Israel's annihilation and the butchering of Israeli woman and children in the most horrific manner? We wonder if any 'International Law' might be a bit disregarded there?


BBC
"Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital. However, Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state".


This Blog
Israel 'Regards' Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital the BBC states. Well yes, Israel does, like Britain 'Regards' London as its eternal and undivided capital and Washington is considered the eternal and undivided capital of the US and if we're going to be Islamic about it Mecca is regarded as the eternal and undivided capital of Islam.

The BBC seems to again overlook history, thousands of years of history, biblical history and fact. One day in the not too distant future the BBC will be forced to recognise this 'eternal and undivided' historical fact because Israelis will not give in one instant to the demands of this interfering corporation and they will fight to their dying breaths for their country and their history, no matter how much it offends some busy liberal bodies in the London offices of the BBC.

Wednesday's announcement is seen as an attempt by Mr Netanyahu to placate right-wing members of his coalition government and many Israelis who have sharply criticised his decision to release 26 prisoners convicted of killing Israelis between 1984 and 1994.


BBC
"This is a difficult decision that we have made with a heavy heart," his Defence Minister, Moshe Yaalon, said on Tuesday.
Mr Netanyahu was reportedly persuaded by US Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this year to agree to the prisoner release programme after Mr Abbas agreed not to insist that all settlement construction was halted before he would restart negotiations".


This Blog
Well John Kerry, under the orders of his Islamist boss Obama, forced Israel into a corner with backing of the Arab dominated UN. This whole deal was pushed through by an anti-Israel US government and supported by a gang of corrupt leaders at the UN whose records for human rights are abysmal. And Mr Abbas agreement 'not' to insist on settlement building was halted was so solid it was broke before the ink dried on John Kerry's papers.  


BBC
"The Palestinian Authority reacted angrily to Wednesday's announcement, but it was not immediately clear if it would have any impact on the talks.....


This Blog
Ummm we bet it does.....


BBC
"We are worried and concerned that if Israel continues with the expansion of settlements, this might kill the two states vision which we would like to see on this land," Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said.


This Blog
We told you it would!


BBC
"Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for the president, told the AFP news agency that the move "destroys the peace process and is a message to the international community that Israel is a country that does not respect international law".


This Blog
Really? Like throwing hand grenades on school buses won't upset the apple cart then? Or the PA allowing and even funding dancing party goers who are chanting death messages to Israel and openly attacking Jews on the West Bank, this then is good for and 'Vision' is it?


BBC
"In a statement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he understood Israel had taken a "difficult step" in continuing to release prisoners and appreciated the gesture, but warned: "Settlement activity is contrary to international law and constitutes an obstacle to peace.
"Any measures that prejudge final status issues will not be recognised by the international community," he added.


This Blog
Is that right? UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was right about the difficult step and he wants to remember it, as well as Abbas's 'promise' about 'Not' demanding any halts to settlement building, before he opens his trap and starts condemning Israel. He also, before sprouting words like 'International Law', needs to consider the attacks on Israel, the barbaric murders of innocent Israelis, even in the last month or so, as well as the thousands upon thousands of Rockets fired at Israel by his pals in Gaza, not forgetting the hate, vile anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic nations that surround Israel and that want Israel wiped off the map. 

Global Zionism

------------

BBC continues to ignore non-fatal terror attacks

On the morning of Friday, October 25th a vehicle transporting pupils from Mevo Dotan in northern Samaria to school was attacked with an improvised explosive device. Fortunately, neither the driver nor the young passengers were injured. IDF forces searched the area for the perpetrators of the attack. 

On the evening of Saturday, October 26th a bus and a car travelling in the al Fawar area south of Hebron were attacked by stone-throwers. Eight Israelis and one Palestinian girl were injured in the attacks.

In the early afternoon of October 27th two mortars fired from the Gaza Strip hit the Eshkol region of the western Negev, fortunately falling in open areas with no injuries caused.

Like the vast majority of attacks against Israeli civilians, none of these examples of recent attacks was reported by the BBC, which tends only to relate to incidents in which there are fatalities or to Israeli actions resulting from those attacks. 

Terror, of course, is not just about specific incidents of damage, death and injury – its main purpose is the ‘drip drip’ intimidation of the broader civilian population with the knowledge that it could happen to them too – at any time and in any place – and the use of that fear to force political concessions from governments ultimately steered by public opinion.

Whilst many informed observers currently do not seem to regard the recent upsurge in violence as heralding an imminent third intifada, the fact remains that by downplaying – or completely ignoring – the daily acts of violence directed at Israeli civilians, the BBC neglects to provide vital context which is crucial for audience understanding of the situation as a whole and specifically, Israeli counter-terrorism measures aimed at containing the violent incidents targeting civilians. 

But the failure to accurately report the overall picture does not only sell short the BBC’s obligation to provide audiences with a “global understanding of international issues“; it also affects the standard of BBC reporting and adherence to its own editorial guidelines on accuracy and impartiality. 

As we saw in the lead up to last year’s ‘Operation Pillar of Cloud’, the fact that the BBC had consistently ignored the majority of the preceding missile fire and other attacks (putting no reporter on the ground in towns and cities such as Ashkelon and Netivot until Israel responded to six weeks of paralysing missile attacks) meant that – with BBC audiences oblivious of the context – it was then able to erroneously claim that the violence began with Israel’s targeting of Ahmed Jabari and to make the bizarre assertion that the operation was part of the incumbent Israeli government’s election campaign.  

It is the same lack of presentation of the context of the ‘drip drip’ of ongoing intimidation by terror which creates an environment in which BBC presenters can embarrass themselves – and the organization they represent – by making crass statements about the numbers of Israeli casualties, as was the case with Mishal Husain last year.

Clearly, an organisation as experienced in news reporting as the BBC can do better – both for its audiences and for its own reputation – if it so wishes. 

BBC Watch

Main German political party foundations fund anti-Israel activity -some things never change

Germany’s main political parties transferred public funds through their foundations to Israel-based NGOs, as well as to organizations in the disputed territories, that are rife with bias against the Jewish state and, in some cases, anti-Semitism.

This according to a study released last week.

“As NGO Monitor’s detailed report shows, while German political foundations claim a mandate for promoting democracy, peace and human rights, a significant portion of their activities related to Israel are immoral,” Prof. Gerald Steinberg, head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post.

“And despite the use of taxpayer funds, the foundations fail the transparency test,” Steinberg said.

“Their positive contributions do not justify demonization and political warfare targeting Israel – Germany should be leading the way in ending Europe’s role in attacking the legitimacy of Jewish sovereign equality,” he said.

The 75-page study, titled, “German Funding for Political Advocacy NGOs Active in the Arab-Israeli Conflict,” found the Green Party’s Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Christian Democratic Union’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation funded the Ramallah-based MIFTAH NGO.

MIFTAH’s publications have accused Israel of “massacre,” “cultural genocide,” “war crimes” and “apartheid,” NGO Monitor reported.

MIFTAH’s Arabic-language website published an article on an anti-Semitic blood libel in response to US President Barack Obama’s support for Israel and his attendance at a Passover Seder. After allegations of anti-Semitism, MIFTAH removed the article.

The Böll Foundation funneled $24,416 to MIFTAH in 2011. The Adenauer Foundation distributed $92,869 in 2011 and 2012 to MIFTAH.

The Adenauer Foundation is affiliated with German Chancellor Angela’s Merkel’s party.

MIFTAH did not immediately respond to Postinquiries.

The German Left Party’s Rosa Luxemburg Foundation funded the Tel Aviv-based Coalition for Women of Peace to the tune of NIS 197,969 in 2010 and NIS 146,026 in 2011. CWP officials have been photographed hoisting a flag of the terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and CWP supports the boycott, divestment, sanctions campaign against Israel, NGO Monitor said.

In an email to the Post, CWP representative Zohar Elmakias wrote, “CWP is a leading women’s peace movement, and we stand with integrity behind every... word and action. With increasing domestic and international criticism of the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people, it is not surprising that reactionary, extremist right-wing and anti-democratic groups disguising themselves as ‘objective’ desperately try to slander progressive forces in Israeli society.”

NGO Monitor’s report noted that the Luxemburg Foundation and the German Holocaust foundation Remembrance, Responsibility, Future (EVZ) distributed funds to the Tel Aviv-based NGO Zochrot, which seeks to “raise public awareness of the Palestinian Nakba,” declares that “the rights of the refugees to return must be accepted” and has accused Israel of ethnic cleansing.

EVZ did not respond to Post queries.

According to NGO Monitor, Zochrot’s agenda is “equivalent to calling for the elimination of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.”

Post queries to Zochrot were not immediately answered.

The Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is aligned with the German Social Democratic Party, used its office in Jerusalem to blame Israel for the failed peace talks with the Palestinians, according to NGO Monitor. In late 2011, Michael Broning, director of the foundation’s Jerusalem office, co-wrote an article with the director of the Palestinian Government Media Center in Ramallah, Ghassan Khatib, titled, “What about Israeli Rejection.”

The authors said Palestinian rejectionism was not the problem, the study noted.

The Free Democratic Party’s Friedrich Naumann Foundation funded the Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies. The Free Democrats refused to disclose their financial support to RCHRS.

“Following the March 2002 suicide bombing attacks and ‘Operation Defensive Shield,’ RCHRS issued a statement promoting the false claim that Israel committed ‘massacres’ in Jenin and Nablus.

RCHRS has also accused Israel of ‘terrorist crimes’ and making children the ‘sacrifice for the racial hatred,’” NGO Monitor said in its report.

The Christian Social Union, the Bavarian-based sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democrats, used its Hans Seidel Foundation to fund the Nazareth-based I’lam Media Center for Arab Palestinians in Israel.

“I’lam’s reports and publications reflect promotion of the demonization campaign, including unsupported claims of bias and discrimination against Israeli Arab citizens of Israel in the media,” according to NGO Monitor.

Seidel does not disclose its funding amounts.

The NGO Monitor study found an overall lack of accountability and transparency throughout the German political foundations and their funding streams in terms of work in Israel and the disputed territories.

In response to a Post query, representatives of the six German political foundations with offices in Israel wrote in a letter, “The German political foundations are a unique instrument of the Federal Republic of Germany. We take pride in the wide range of our contributions to political dialogue, stipends, academia and development cooperation as well as in the endorsements we receive from all sectors of Israeli society. It is the belief in pluralistic democracy that remains the guiding principle for our work and for our diverse contributions to our partner countries.”

The representatives continued, “We jointly reject the one-sided and limited conclusions, which NGO Monitor draws in the above-mentioned report. We regard your conclusions as unfounded allegations resulting out of a biased, incomplete and scientifically flawed research.

“We did consider clarifying the vast number of shortcomings of your report through a close and collaborative interaction with your organization. Our scope of action will remain unaffected by your report. We certainly will continue to provide – with full integrity, legality and accountability – our value-based contributions to the German-Israeli relations, to the strengthening of pluralistic and democratic societies, and to the Middle East peace process towards a viable two-state solution,” the representatives said.

Steinberg told the Post, “We urge the foundation heads to respond through dialogue and cooperation, in contrast to simplistic attacks and attempts to silence this long-overdue debate.”

The Israeli Embassy in Berlin declined to comment on the NGO Monitor study.

When asked about the German Foreign Ministry’s role, according to the study, in funding anti-Israel work in the Jewish state, a spokeswoman wrote the Post, “Germany’s foreign policy stands firmly on the side of Israel” and is in line with a “fair and just” two-state solution.

Jerusalem post