Whatever view one takes on the issue of settlements, the least that media consumers should expect from the New York Times is some accurate and nuanced reporting on what is a complex issue.
So it’s unfortunate that new Jerusalem bureau chief Ian Fisher reveals his own lack of nuance in the opening paragraph of his latest story on settlements (emphasis added):
Israel approved 3,000 more housing units in the occupied West Bank late Tuesday, the largest number in a wave of new construction plans that defy the international community and that open a forceful phase in the country’s expansion into land the Palestinians claim for a future state.
Given that Israel is issuing plans to build housing units both within existing settlements and in existing Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, how can it be a “forceful phase in the country’s expansion into land the Palestinians claim for a future state?”
The area of land for settlements is not expanding even if the number of houses and Jews living in them is increasing. By using the specific words “expansion into,” the New York Times is inaccurately claiming that the physical area under Israeli control, rather than the number of housing units, is increasing.
Accuracy is important and doubly so when it comes to reporting from Israel and the Palestinian territories. Here’s hoping that Ian Fisher will internalize this sooner rather than later.
