In its report on the Israeli targeted assassination of Hamas finance official and terror funder Muhammad al-Ghoul, the New York Times includes a small yet important acknowledgment of Hamas control over what the media can report:
The witness, who arrived at the scene minutes after the airstrike, said security men in plain clothes prevented photographers from taking photographs there, kept onlookers away, collected the money and searched what remained of the car for more cash. The witness spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
It’s safe to assume that the “security men in plain clothes” are Hamas members. That they are dressed like civilians begs the question as to how many terrorists have been classified as civilians simply because they were not wearing military uniforms.
That photographers and onlookers were prevented from documenting the scene and that a witness feared retribution for talking speaks volumes about the reality of Hamas control over the Gaza Strip and why large parts of the story have not made it into the international media.
Maybe it’s not a surprise that NY Times Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren isn’t responsible for writing this latest story. After all, she dismissed the Foreign Press Association’s condemnation of Hamas media intimidation, calling it “nonsense.”
Image: CC BY-NC-SA HonestReporting, flickr/Michael Ko?tter, flickr/Free Press
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