Israel-Gaza conflict: What has Israel achieved in 26 bloody days?

[OriZ 3,157]

WASHINGTON - The Foreign Press Association (FPA) released a statement Monday condemning censorship by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in attempts to ensure that reports put the terrorist organization in positive light over the course of Operation Protective Edge.

Since foreign reporters exited the Gaza Strip during a lull in fighting, several reports have surfaced showing footage that they had been afraid to show while in Gaza, but the FPA's comments are the first such claims from an official organization.

"The FPA protests in the strongest terms the blatant, incessant, forceful and unorthodox methods employed by the Hamas authorities and their representatives against visiting international journalists in Gaza over the past month," read the statement.

According to members of the organization, which comprises of some 500 journalists from 32 different countries, Hamas pressured and threatened reporters, preventing them from giving viewers and readers an, "objective picture from the ground."

"In several cases, foreign reporters working in Gaza have been harassed, threatened or questioned over stories or information they have reported through their news media or by means of social media," said the FPA statement.

The organization also said in the statement that Hamas has been trying to, "put in place a 'vetting' procedure that would, in effect, allow for the blacklisting of specific journalists. Such a procedure is vehemently opposed by the FPA."

Monday's statement is the first time the group has criticized Hamas' treatment of the foreign media, though the FPA has condemned Israel for several incidents including during Operation Protective Edge when they released a statement accusing the IDF of firing at Al Jazeera's headquarters in the Gaza Strip.

In response, Israel has apologized for such incidents, calling them a mistake and warning the organization that Hamas was using reporters as human shields. The Government Press Office (GPO) also stressed that Israel can't be responsible for the safety of journalists in the Gaza Strip saying, "The city of Gaza and the surrounding areas are a battleground."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4557775,00.html

An n umbrella group representing foreign journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian Authority strongly condemned Hamas Monday for what it said were attempts to intimidate them and interfere with their coverage of the fighting in Gaza.

In a sharply worded reproach of Gaza’s de facto rulers that was posted on its website, the Foreign Press Association denounced Hamas’s attempts to control foreign press coverage and efforts to discriminate against those who don’t comply with its demands.

“The FPA protests in the strongest terms the blatant, incessant, forceful and unorthodox methods employed by the Hamas authorities and their representatives against visiting international journalists in Gaza over the past month,” the statement said. “The international media are not advocacy organizations and cannot be prevented from reporting by means of threats or pressure, thereby denying their readers and viewers an objective picture from the ground.”

As well as targeting journalists in Gaza, the press organization said it was aware that Hamas has also been taking steps to vet those media personnel it doesn’t approve of and to prevent them from reporting in Gaza.

“Such a procedure is vehemently opposed by the FPA,” the statement said.

The FPA asserted that “in several cases, foreign reporters working in Gaza have been harassed, threatened or questioned over stories or information they have reported through their news media or by means of social media.”

A numbers of reporters working in Gaza reported on Hamas’s use of civilian infrastructure for military means, but said they were only able to do so once out of the Strip, for fear of Hamas reprisals.

A report by India-based NDTV last week on Hamas assembling and firing a rocket next to a hotel used by journalists was filed hours after the reporter left Gaza, because “Hamas has not taken very kindly to any reporting of its rockets being fired,” he wrote.

Formed in 1957 by a group of journalists, the FPA is a nonprofit organization that aims to assist foreign reporters in covering news from Israel. It says that its mandate is “to clarify bureaucratic problems and to protect our interests.”

Read more: Foreign press group condemns Hamas intimidation in Gaza | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/foreign-press-group-condemns-hamas-intimidation-in-gaza/#ixzz3AEuSm7X7

Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

Edited August 13, 2014 by OriZ

[Karee 4,190]

The difference between you and I is this: "The United Nations, Human Rights Watch and many other international bodies and NGOs continues to consider Israel to be the occupying power of the Gaza Strip as Israel controls Gaza Strip's airspace, territorial waters and controls the movement of people or goods in or out of Gaza by air or sea."

So yes we are different. You believe that putting people behind walls and under siege is an acceptable, peaceful practice and that they have no right to break the siege. I, and a very large part of the rest of the world, do not.

On January 31, 2012 the United Nations independent "International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" filed a report stating that Israeli settlement led to a multitude of violations of Palestinian human rights.

You and I also disagree on this. Flagrant violation of human rights is not a practice of a civil, peaceful society and when a people is subject to violation of their human rights then they have the right to fight the violators.

Binyamin Netanyahu who said in a broadcast statement: "As prime minister of Israel, I will not allow the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who live in the West Bank, Golan Heights and our united capital Jerusalem to be harmed. We will not accept any external diktats about our borders. This matter will only be settled in direct negotiations between the parties."

You and I disagree on this: The region is not a bank or pawnshop. It is not peaceful to take property then "negotiate by force" for it later.

You probably believe that you "left Gaza and look how bad these people still are". I believe that calculating and limiting food supplies to the bare minimum of total calories that prevents malnutrition is something that the worst of societies will do. Are you kidding yourself here?

In October 2012, an Israeli court forced Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) to release a document that detailed "red lines" for "food consumption in the Gaza strip" during the 2007 blockade. According to the COGAT, the document was a rough draft, and never actually implemented. He want n further to say that there was never even any discussion after the document had been drafted. The document calculates the minimum number of calories necessary to keep Gazans from malnutrition and avoid a humanitarian crisis. This number was converted to a number of daily truckloads, the number being decreased to account for food produced in Gaza, and further on the basis of "culture and experience" of the Gazans. This reduction, if implemented, would have resulted in an increase in sugar and a decrease in fruits, vegetables, milk, and meat.Gisha, an Israeli human-rights group, said that in fact the number of truckloads allowed into Gaza was less than stipulated in the calculation. The UN said that if the policy was intended to cap food imports, it would go against humanitarian principles. The body responsible for the calculation said its intent was to ensure no shortages occur, not to cap food imports. Israeli officials now acknowledge the restrictions were partly meant to pressure Hamas by making the lives of Gazans difficult.

You and I disagree on this: Israel does not have the right to force themselves between countries and force their way into becoming their bankers. Who the hell do they think they are?

In November 2010, the Israeli government allowed Gaza to resume agricultural exports, while still banning industrial exports. Shortly afterward, Gazan farmers began exporting strawberries, peppers, carnations, and cherry tomatoes. The exports travel to Europe via Israel, and Israel then transfers the money to agricultural cooperatives, which in turn pay the Palestinian farmers.

Allowed? Really? Because you said earlier "hey they are out, Gaza is free, but look they are still bad people". So what Israel is just "managing their money for them?"

Get this: Israel never left, Israel never even TRIED to make peace, so good god stop flagrantly lying on this board about it. Any one of us would give the finger and worse to any of these actions imposed on us.

You're having a debate with yourself. All the other poster is capable of, is posting article after article. Like people are gonna read all that propaganda.

[OriZ 3,157]

You hit the nail on the head! If they bothered reading they would actually learn something...but why bother learning when you can just keep spouting the same old BS?

You can only try to educate people, you can't force them to learn.

[OriZ 3,157]

The media coverage of wars affects the global public opinion, leaders and decision making. Its trends can determine the results just as much as what it achieved in the battlefield.

The main problem presented in the media during all of Israel's wars and operations in the past decade is proportionality and the number of civilian casualties. The media is the main source of information on the extent, type and source of losses.

Media Bias The international media's hypocrisy - the Hamas case /Yossi Levy

Op-ed: Most of the international media have decided for you in advance that Israel is the bad guy in the story. It focuses on every Gaza casualty while ignoring civilian deaths in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Libya and Kenya.

Full op-ed

The coverage ofcivilian casualties in the global media, mainly in the West, was characterized by an anti-Israel bias and serious professional and ethical failures. They appeared in all components of the journalistic coverage: Pictures, headlines, reports, editorials and cartoons.

The images from Gaza showed only what Hamas permitted the media to broadcast and describe. Hamas terrorized and censored journalists. It only allowed them to broadcast images of destruction and killing of civilians, particularly women and children, and staged situations on the ground.

There were no images of rockets launched from populated areas and from within UNRWA schools, mosques and hospitals. There were only images of civilians' bodies and funerals and very few images of Hamas fighters, if any.

Media outlets around the world failed to mention the restricting conditions they had operated under in Gaza, which unavoidably led to false and misleading reports.

Only after they left Gaza, few journalists like the Italian Gabriele Barbati and the French Gallagher Fenwick dared to expose the way Hamas terrorized journalists, its use of civilians as human shields and its failed launches which resulted in the killing of children, like at the Shati refugee camp on July 28. This is an ethical failure.

The media have turned the civilian death toll into the only measure of the justness of the Israeli warfare. The New York Times and Haaretz, for instance, published the Gaza death toll on their front pages every day. The message is clear: The higher the number of civilian casualties, the more "war crimes" Israel is committing.

This measure is groundless. According to its distorted logic, Nazi Germany – which had one million dead civilians in World War II – was the victim of the aggressiveness of the United States, which lost "only" 12,000 civilians, and Britain, which lose "only" 67,000 civilians. This is a logic and ethical failure.

The media knew that the reports published by the Palestinians, the United Nations and the Red Cross about civilian victims in all the conflicts since the first Lebanon War until today were false. In Operation Protective Edge as well, the claims of 75-80% civilian casualties are false.

The New York Times and the BBC, which emphasized the "victim competition," are now admitting that the reported number of civilian deaths contradicts statistical tests. This is a professional failure.

China and India's broadcast networks exposed the missing context of Israel's efforts to avoid harming civilians and Hamas' counteractions. Who would have thought that communist China's international broadcast network (CCTV) would cover the Gaza conflict in a much more accurate and balanced way than the British BBC?

This surprising fact points more than anything to the anti-Israel bias and perhaps anti-Semitism of Western media outlets. The biased and misleading coverage contributed to the hasty calls to prosecute Israel for war crimes, to mass protests against Israel and to anti-Semitic incidents in Europe.

The Western media must report to their consumers about their professional and ethical failures in Gaza. I seriously doubt they have the courage to probe their own failures as they often demands from governments and organizations.<a class="bluelink" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4556016,00.html" href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4556016,00.html" '="" target="_blank">

Edited August 13, 2014 by OriZ

[OriZ 3,157]

While Israel continues to highlight its efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, European public opinion proves that in foreign eyes, it’s not the intent that counts.

Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge, the IDF has published videos of pilots calling off air raids, officers have called civilians to evacuate, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned the international community of Hamas’ use of human shields – however, it appears that Israel’s critics abroad refuse to let the facts throw them off.

“Most see the number of civilian victims as an indicator of the moral upper hand,” explained Mikkel Andersson, a Danish journalist. “They assume that if so many die from Israeli attacks, it necessarily implies callousness or intent."

Andersson stressed that those who believe the civilian losses are intentional are by far a minority. However, it is the majority that ultimately cares only about the end result of Israel's many efforts to protect innocent civilians – a fact that does not encourage positive coverage of Israel's military actions. Denmark is not alone – Israel is having trouble winning over the public in most of western Europe.

“The Spanish people are used to supporting the weaker side of every conflict,” pointed out Spanish journalist Miguel Angel Benedicto, who recently wrote an article about life under fire in Israel after visiting the country. “It’s difficult for us to understand the ‘eye for an eye’ policy, we think negotiations would be better.”

'Iron Dome damages Hasbara efforts'

“In the eyes of the international community, the operation seems like a disproportionate overreaction, like using a hammer to crush a peanut,” continued Leo Cendrowicz, a British journalist working in Belgium.

IAF attack on Gaza (Photo: AP)

“There is a feeling that the Israeli government is run by hardliners who have created a mission for themselves and who do not care about the international public opinion. In Belgium there’s a general agreement that even if Hamas must pay, the Palestinian people shouldn’t suffer.”

The ruins of a mosque following IAF attack on Gaza (Photo: AFP)

While journalists all claim that the media in their country paint a fair picture of the conflict - remembering to also mentioning the rocket barrages from Gaza and Israel’s attempt to spare innocents – it appears that the balanced coverage has had a limited influence on its audience.

A bombarded house in Gaza (Photo: Reuters)

"Belgian newspapers are currently debating over whether it’s right to compare the aerial strikes on Gaza to the rockets fired on Israel, since the attacks on Gaza seem to be far more destructive,” Cendrowicz said. “On the other hand, unlike the rockets, the raids do not target civilians."

Andersson indicated that a similar dilemma exists in Denmark: “Most Danes have no love for Hamas, but they view its actions as a product of Israeli occupation. To Israelis it might seem as an utterly bizarre conclusion, but the Gaza operation would have probably been perceived as far more justified if it weren't for the Iron Dome system and if Hamas had succeeded in launching a truly devastating attack on civilians."

Iron Dome intercept rocket in Ashdod

“I believe that the inventors of the Iron Dome deserve a Nobel prize, but PR-wise, it definitely put Israel at a disadvantage,” agreed Esther Voet, director of CIDI – an independent Dutch organization backed by the Jewish community, which provides information about Israel and the challenges with which it deals.

“The stream of rockets from Gaza and the fact that Hamas has refused to ceasefire three times both have an effect on public opinion,” she explained.

“But the Netherlands, which is a small country, has an innate tendency to support the underdog. If in 1967 and in 1973 people here drove around with bumper stickers saying 'I support Israel', now you don't see that anymore. Nowadays Israel has the upper hand and it supposedly became the neighborhood bully. It fell victim to its own success.”

'Most Europeans can't point out Gaza on a map'

Since the beginning of the escalation, CIDI has been trying to present Israel’s stance through articles, interviews, and active lobbying. The organization is not alone in its efforts – the Brussels-based Europe Israel Press Association (EIPA) assists European journalists reporting on the Middle East, organizes delegations and briefings, and sends daily updates on the situation.

“Israel must highlight its status as the only democracy in the region, with an army that upholds values and moral norms,” asserted Yossi Lempkowicz, manager of EIPA’s media activity in Europe.

“In order to influence someone’s mind, one needs to provide facts, background information, and a rational explanation - not propaganda, like Hamas. In the end, the truth will come out,” he assured.

The European journalists agreed that their audience is lacking information: "Denmark is a country in which civilians have absolutely no experience with warfare, and the majority of them have no idea of the meaning of urban guerrilla warfare against an enemy intentionally embedded in civilian areas,” Andersson explained.

“Honestly, I doubt that many Danes - or Western Europeans, for that matter - would be able to point out Gaza on a map if it was not labeled."

“In general, I think the most reasonable thing to do is to explain the complexities of the situation and to counter misconceptions, of which there are many,” he continued.

“For example, the fact that Hamas deliberately and systematically hides behind civilians is often overlooked or trivialized. When Israel encouraged the civilian evacuation of neighborhoods in northern Gaza, many did not view Hamas' order to civilians to stay put as problematic, thinking ‘they had nowhere to go anyway, since Gaza is so tiny’.

They were unable to tell the difference between the relative safety of a UN-run refugee camp, as opposed to being in an area of intense fighting. I think it is extremely hard to change peoples' fundamental views on the conflict either way, but it is possible to convince some that the situation is more complex than they thought.”

But while Israel tries to convey its point of view using charts, facts, and figures, the Palestinians are proving that a picture is worth a thousand words. “There is no doubt that photos from Gaza have a stronger effect on public opinion than the ones from Israel,” the European journalists said in unison all.

Referring to this issue, Lempkowicz stated that “by now the public has become accustomed to horrific images from the area,” but the other foreign press representatives held differing views. “I don’t mean to sound cynical,” admitted Cendrowicz, “but Israel needs to show more images of death and destruction on its side, to show the repercussions of the rocket attacks and the damage they (Hamas) caused, if there was such.”

'Photos of destruction in Israel not severe enough'

The British reporter suggested fighting fire with fire: “Nowadays the images from Gaza rule the press and only rarely are images from Israel shown.

"Stories like the four Palestinian teens killed by a bombing of Gaza’s shoreline, have more influence and portray the Palestinians as victims.”

In the Netherlands, however, Voet called for the use of a different tactic: “The photos of the destruction on the Israeli side won't work because they aren't severe enough and they don't touch enough people. Instead, we must keep emotions out of the conflict and emphasize reason.”

The desire to appeal to logic led her to publish an op-ed when the ground operation was days away, in which she warned of the day the photos of the destruction in Gaza would be published.

“This conflict revolves around image, and I explained the nature of the asymmetric combat in Gaza, and warned that once these photos will come out, Israel will lose in the court of public opinion and Hamas will win. I think it helped to fight against those images. The article received a lot of reactions, especially from people who don't think in black or white.”

According to Voet, the criticism from the international community stems from a wider problem: “One cannot look with western eyes at the Israeli-Palestinian, because the mentality of the Arab world is completely different.

"We are measuring a western country, Israel, by western standards without understanding the area surrounding it. Just look at the political mistakes made by the west in Iraq and in Syria. The west forgets that it's a very colonial way of thinking. The problem is that Israel also perceives itself through western ideals – and of course, I'm hoping it won't forget its moral principles – but then, when four children are killed, Israel loses.”

Fighting a losing battle?

Israelis often feel that the attempt to win over the European public is a lost cause, mainly because of the growing Muslim population and the anti-Semitism, which is not so latent anymore.

Swastikas and signs comparing Israel to Hitler were spotted recently at many of the demonstrations against Israel around the world. “It’s happening more and more,” affirmed Lempkowicz, who resides in Brussels. “The demonstrators are calling for the murder of Jews and compare the Israelis to Nazis, often with the support of political leaders like the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan.

"Anti-zionism necessary leads nowadays to anti-Semitism. The European authorities condemn this in statements, but they must also ban such demonstrations.

Voet also admitted she sometimes feels as if she is the most hated women in the Netherlands. “I’m at the forefront, so I get a lot of heat,” she told.

“Now most of the anti-Semitic incidents occur on social networks. The worst response I received was on Tweeter, when someone wrote: 'Don't worry, the second holocaust in coming, Allah will see to that.' In a different incident a rapper speaking in front of 3,000 people called me the most condemnable person in the Netherlands.'” Despite this, Voet insisted that the manifestations of anti-Semitism are not as widespread as they were during operation Cast Lead, for example.

Moreover, she claimed that the comparison between anti-Semitism and the foreign criticism of Israel is the worst mistake Israel can make. “In some places the two things overlap, and of course there are people who hide behind the statement 'I'm not an antisemite, I'm an anti-zionist' – but dismissing all foreign criticism is deadly in the European arena.

"Israel is lowering itself by being dragged into this discussion. I've heard these claims from Israeli politicians as well, and that makes our lives here at CIDI very difficult.”

Instead of complaining of prejudice, the pro-Israel activists celebrate their relative success. “In my view, Israel had managed to convey to the world the goals of the current operation and the fact that it’s not at war with the people of Gaza, and the foreign press also presented the Israeli narrative much more than in the past,” reminded Lempkowicz.

“However, the general public opinion is always manipulated more by extremists, who are more active than the political center, and the growing jihadism also plays a part in that.”

Voet who also noted that media reports of the current operation are more balanced than those that preceded it, further stressed that the ability to change one's mind depends on his openness towards other opinions.

“We have a large percentage of Muslims and only few want to listen, but I believe people won't hate Israel 'no matter what.' I even have proof: Recently a member of the socialist party, which always supported the Palestinians, demanded sanctions against Hamas and the PA in an interview on Dutch television. This is a voice we haven't heard before. There are also many people who choose sides without knowing anything of the conflict and that's disturbing.”

Voet also pointed at a trend of radicalization in the Netherlands and in Europe in general, yet saw this as an opportunity waiting to be seized: “Israel needs to emphasize that this is not an Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this is an Arab-Israeli conflict, and to remind that it is dealing with all the scary forces which are currently rising in the Arab world, ISIS and al-Qaeda, because we have them here as well and we are scared.

"In my opinion, people are beginning to understand that Israel is at the front line against even more radical forces, and once a common enemy will emerge, these forces might bring together the moderate voices both on the Palestinian and on the Israeli sides.”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555756,00.html

[Póg mo 1,749]

You're having a debate with yourself. All the other poster is capable of, is posting article after article. Like people are gonna read all that propaganda.

That seems to be the idea.post enough propaganda over and over and he hopes that people will just give up, and cease debating the issue altogether.

[Expat1 971]

That seems to be the idea.post enough propaganda over and over and he hopes that people will just give up, and cease debating the issue altogether.

This isn't Israel and we aren't so dumbed down that we can't look something over and decide what is right or wrong for ourselves.

[Expat1 971]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4555756,00.html

Honestly who gives a flick if they called off a few raids?

64 soldiers, 2 civilians killed on the Israeli side, 97% combatants.

450 children out of 1900 killed on the Palestinian side, 25% of the casualties are children much less actual combatants. Hell even Israel admits that only 40% of the casualties are actual fighters.

So who are you kidding here? You come back burping "hey we could have killed WAY WAY more children but we didn't so hey look how humane we are"? Peaceful and humane my a$$.

I suggest a new occupation for you. Farming. Fertilize your farm like you fertilize this thread and you could be a rich man.

[Boiler 45,749]

Just wondering what the definition of children is.

[decocker 7,198]

Just wondering what the definition of children is.

there are lists of the names and ages of the dead available on the intranets.

[OriZ 3,157]

Honestly who gives a flick if they called off a few raids?

64 soldiers, 2 civilians killed on the Israeli side, 97% combatants.

450 children out of 1900 killed on the Palestinian side, 25% of the casualties are children much less actual combatants. Hell even Israel admits that only 40% of the casualties are actual fighters.

So who are you kidding here? You come back burping "hey we could have killed WAY WAY more children but we didn't so hey look how humane we are"? Peaceful and humane my a$$.

I suggest a new occupation for you. Farming. Fertilize your farm like you fertilize this thread and you could be a rich man.

According to Israel at least 50% are combatants.

Now, as far as the Palestinians not killing more Israeli civlians...been through this so many times before(you guys never listen do you?)...it's not for lack of trying. Brave Israeli soldiers went into Gaza, knowing that the enemy is hiding in tunnels, hospitals, mosques, schools, people's houses like a bunch of cowards. Of course they killed soldiers. They did not fight face to face, they camp around and shoot and run. And again, Israel apologizes for the sirens, shelters and iron dome system.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

As I keep saying, the dehumanisation of the Palestinians is the problem I have with this situation - because it justifies not only the military action but also allows Israel evade any responsibility for what happens as a result of their actions.

[Boiler 45,749]

Hamas do not seem to have nay responsibilities.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

According to Israel at least 50% are combatants.

Now, as far as the Palestinians not killing more Israeli civlians...been through this so many times before(you guys never listen do you?)...it's not for lack of trying. Brave Israeli soldiers went into Gaza, knowing that the enemy is hiding in tunnels, hospitals, mosques, schools, people's houses like a bunch of cowards. Of course they killed soldiers. They did not fight face to face, they camp around and shoot and run. And again, Israel apologizes for the sirens, shelters and iron dome system.

If Hamas is going to fight Israel, how should they be doing it?

I mean... their ideology aside, it's guerila warfare. It's not like they can go toe to toe with the IDF in a pitched battle is it...

[decocker 7,198]

Hamas do not seem to have nay responsibilities.

where do you get that?