===(1)===
When Yasser Arafat claimed that the Israeli Mossad set up a fake al-Qaeda terrorist cell in Gaza, Israeli spokesmen dismissed it as nonsense. But BBC’s headline trumpets Arafat’s accusation as if it were undisputed fact:
“Israel ‘faked al-Qaeda presence'”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2550513.stm
Actually, the al-Qaeda website http://mojahedoon.net, in addition to claiming responsibility for the attacks in Kenya, vowed to launch suicide attacks against Israeli targets in the Middle East.
===(2)===
BBC blithely declares this headline:
“Israeli Missile Strike Kills One”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2542867.stm
Readers have to scroll down to find out the “one” was a wanted terrorist (employed by the PA security services) responsible for several Israeli deaths.
===(3)===
And finally, when a group of United Nations workers signed a petition calling on the Israeli government to exercise more caution, BBC’s headline declared:
“Israel ‘threatens lives of UN workers'”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2541455.stm
In fact, the issue is far from cut-and-dry, as Danielle Haas of the San Francisco Chronicle reports:
– Hamas admitted that a UNRWA teacher killed by the IDF was a member of the terror group.
– Posters of suicide bombers can be found on the walls of UNRWA schools.
– U.S. congressmen are saying that U.S. funding for the UNRWA should be frozen if the terror continues.
Haas also notes the bigger context of Israel-UN tensions over the years, including the UN’s denial (and subsequent admission) of possessing a videotape of kidnapped IDF soldiers, the ‘Zionism is Racism’ resolution, the Durban racism conference, and the hypocrisy of Syria having a seat on the Security Council.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/11/MN169421.DTL
Meanwhile, an Israeli government report maintains that the UNRWA provides an infrastructure for terrorist activities, with UNRWA facilities used as terrorist havens.
The report tells of UNRWA ambulance driver Nidal Nazal, arrested five months ago, who admitted using his ambulance to transport ammunition and messages between terrorist groups.
Ala Hassan, a Tanzim terrorist arrested nine months ago, said that ammunition was stored and target practice was held in the UNRWA school in Nablus. Nahad Atalla also admitting using an UNRWA vehicle to transport terrorists on their way to attacks.
HonestReporting encourages members to monitor your local media to see how they are reporting the tension between the UN and Israel.
As for the misleading BBC headlines, send comments to:
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