The Daily Mail could be commended for publishing a photo essay exposing Palestinian children being put through military training at a Hamas-run summer camp. However, despite the photos showing the obvious military side to Hamas’s activities, this is how Hamas is described in some of the captions:
Hamas, a Palestinian political group which is considered a terrorist organisation by some countries
and
The Gaza Strip has been controlled by political organisation Hamas since 2007
In addition, the introduction states:
Some countries and organisations, including Israel, the United States and the European Union, classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation, while others, including many Arab states, do not.
While the photos are self-explanatory, the writer of this piece produces an enormous fudging of the reality. Is it even necessary to “balance” the views of Western liberal democracies who classify Hamas as a terror organization with others, which would include such paragons of virtue as Syria and Iran? Even Egypt considers Hamas to be a terror organization. This is ridiculous example of Orwellian even-handedness on the part of the Daily Mail.
As for calling Hamas a “political organization,” this description whitewashes the integral role of militarism / terrorism for Hamas. How many political organizations train children in the art of terror?
If the photos clearly show it, why can’t the Daily Mail clearly say it?
