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Attempted suicide bomber
Wafa al-Bas |
Yesterday (June 20), a Palestinian woman took advantage of a humanitarian
medical clearance to attempt a suicide bombing of an Israeli hospital. Israeli
security caught Wafa al-Bas at a Gaza checkpoint and safely detonated the explosives
that had been tied to her undergarments.
View news video of capture.
This episode highlights three important points that remain largely ignored
or misrepresented in media coverage of the Mideast conflict:
1) SUICIDE TERROR: ASPIRATION, NOT DESPERATION
Al-Bas
explained
to reporters why she carried out the act:
I love Allah, I love the land of Palestine and I am a member of Al-Aksa Brigades...
my dream was to be a martyr. I believe in death... Since I was a little girl I wanted to carry out an attack.
Though media outlets often rationalize Palestinian suicide terror as a
'desperate' response to Israeli wrongdoing, al-Bas' statement is the
latest indication that the main motivation for the heinous crime is a
twisted, lifelong aspiration to achieve 'greatness' via mass murder.
A primary source of this problem is incitement in Palestinian media and culture.
On Sunday (June 19) PA President
Mahmoud Abbas told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and western reporters that official Palestinian media 'no longer incites against Israel'.
But
very little has actually changed. As documented by Palestinian Media Watch, imagery promoting violence against
'illegitimate' Israelis and 'conspiratorial' Jews remains prominent in
official Palestinian TV and newspapers. This is a direct violation of the PA's
roadmap commitment for 'all official Palestinian institutions
[to] end incitement against Israel', and it continues to fuel the ideology behind acts such as al-Bas'.
2) IMPORTANCE OF ISRAELI CHECKPOINTS
The latest
Amnesty International report accused Israel of 'crimes against humanity
and war crimes' that included 'obstruction of medical assistance'. Such
reports invariably receive broad, uncritical media coverage that lacks
appropriate context.
Al-Bas' act, however, clearly demonstrates the need for strict Israeli
administration of checkpoints and medical permits. She is the
latest in
a long string of Palestinian terrorists who cynically used their status as medical patients
or modest women to perpetrate terror attacks.
An important condemnation of al-Bas was carried only in
the
LA Times:
"We utterly condemn this action in every respect," said Shabtai Gold, a
spokesman for Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, which is often critical of
Israeli authorities for impeding Palestinian access to medical care inside
Israel.
IDF spokeswoman
Sharon Finegold
put the matter in perspective: 'These
terror organizations are not only the enemies of the Israelis but also of the
Palestinian people themselves, who suffer as a result of this abuse of the
young, the sick, the wounded.'
3) PA EMBRACING, NOT STOPPING TERRORISTS
According
to a Haaretz
report, Israeli security received a tip on al-Bas' imminent attack, and gave
the PA and Abbas detailed information regarding it, but the PA did not act.
Al-Bas' thwarted effort followed on the heels of a brutal ambush of an Israeli
civilian car in the West Bank (pictured), which killed
28-year old
Yigveny Rider.
The PA continues to do very little to fulfill its roadmap obligation
to uproot terror groups, choosing instead to
incorporate terrorist operatives into its political and security
leadership.
Media outlets continue to ignore this violation of the signed agreement,
describing it as a mere 'Israeli demand', as in this
UPI report
on yesterday's Palestinian violence:
These seemed to be "perfect" examples for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who
Tuesday afternoon is to host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his
official residence in central Jerusalem... Sharon never seems to tire
demanding a complete cessation of terrorism, violence and incitement,
dismantling terrorist organizations and collecting their weapons.
UPI's jab at Sharon is both an unprofessional editorial comment inserted in a news
article, and a complete misrepresentation of the PA's own commitment to the
world community to uproot terrorism from its midst.
Comments to UPI:
international_desk@upi.com
HonestReporting encourages subscribers to be on the lookout in your local
media for these three ongoing misrepresentations of Palestinian terror.
Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias.
HonestReporting
