Overnight on July 3, the IDF launched what it described as a contained and precise operation to foil terrorist activity in the Jenin area, which consisted of surprise attacks on terrorist infrastructure in a West Bank city that has been dubbed the Palestinian “terror capital.”
In total, the operation saw approximately 2,000 soldiers deployed, as well as drones which were used to carry out precision strikes designed to clear a path for forces on the ground.
At least eight Palestinians — seven of whom have been claimed by terror groups — were killed in the raid at this time of writing.
Predictably and depressingly, HonestReporting was forced to call out many international media outlets where their coverage of the Jenin raid fell short.
Operation vs. Attack
The New York Times, BBC, Washington Post and CNN all failed to highlight the nature and scope of the Israeli operation in Jenin in their headlines, variously referring to it as a series of “strikes,” an “assault” and a “deadly raid,” while the fact that Jenin is a hotbed of terrorist activity was noted in just one headline by the Associated Press (describing Jenin as a “militant stronghold”).
Such headlines give readers the false impression that Israel has indiscriminately targeted Palestinians in Jenin, as opposed to launching a counterterrorism operation designed at destroying infrastructure and apprehending armed suspects.
Headline by @BBCNews avoids scope of IDF op in Jenin.
Quotes Palestinian Health Ministry’s unverifiable figures & avoids labeling dead Palestinians terrorists.
“Masked Palestinians” reveals nothing about who they are – active combatants.https://t.co/vwIlxMnkIO pic.twitter.com/rZhwR5wLDu
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 3, 2023
The BBC fell short of its duty to report the full, unbiased facts when it aired footage of the Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh claiming Israel was trying to “erase [Jenin] refugee camp completely” and failed to challenge or contextualize the obviously false assertion.
The Palestinian Authority is peddling the lie that the @IDF is destroying Jenin or “erasing” it. @BBCNews has people on the ground and can see this statement is factually false but does nothing to contextualize or explain this. pic.twitter.com/toupoYeNUe
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 3, 2023
Several outlets, including the Associated Press and the Daily Mail, sought to cast doubt on whether the operation was indeed for the purpose of destroying terrorist infrastructure, with the former suggesting the IDF may have struck a “crowded area” and the latter adding an air of ambiguity by using inverted commas around the word “counterterrorism” in its headline.
The @AP’s headline also avoided the reason behind the op.
An earlier version of the article seemed to doubt the targeted nature of the IDF’s op.
AP is a wire service. How many outlets could have copied this erroneous observation?https://t.co/CzKAT5YzZO pic.twitter.com/4MVvVWw7f6
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 3, 2023
Terrorism vs. Resistance
The Washington Post oxymoronically labeled Jenin the “center for armed Palestinian resistance,” perhaps forgetting that gun-toting terrorists entering Israel proper — as a number of terrorists from Jenin have — to murder Israeli civilians is a far cry from “resistance.”
In addition, the WaPo also claimed Israel had “invade[d]” Jenin, despite Israel’s security incursions being a legal obligation.
The @washingtonpost also avoids scope of IDF op in headline.
Refers to Jenin Brigade as Palestinian “resistance.” Remember, this is a terror group which has targeted civilians.
Terrorism is not resistance.https://t.co/vkF09FL8h3 pic.twitter.com/xpsWH54nHh
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 3, 2023
Similarly, the issue of the legality of the operation was muddled by the Daily Mail, which erroneously claimed the IDF was operating against the law in carrying out its obligation to prevent terrorism.
Hey @DailyMailUK, are you questioning the legality of the @IDF targeting terrorist organizations?
Israel has the right and obligation to defend its citizens.https://t.co/biSHmHLRMx pic.twitter.com/wsqSsoAi8I
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 3, 2023
Meanwhile, The New York Times’ muted description of Jenin as a “center of Palestinian militancy” inadequately explained how the city has morphed into a terror hub from which attacks on innocent Israeli civilians are orchestrated.
The NYT later amended the headline of its story — which initially called the operation an “assault” — to “Israel Unleashes Fiercest Air Attack on West Bank in Nearly Two Decades,” in what was clearly an attempt to ratchet up the tension.
The evolution of a @nytimes headline: what started out as an "assault" on a West Bank city is now the "fiercest air attack in nearly two decades."https://t.co/AkJZHpgWPA https://t.co/JbqKKcnVmS pic.twitter.com/hu0aIxQMzB
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 3, 2023
Victims vs. Terrorists
Finally, woefully few media outlets actually reported that seven of the eight casualties of the Jenin raid were affiliated with terrorist organizations.
Despite pictures of the men clutching guns circulating online, most mainstream news organizations simply referred to the dead men as “Palestinians” without identifying their terrorist connections.
7 out of 8 killed in Jenin are confirmed militants pic.twitter.com/9AA0m6Lopu
— Adin – עדין (@AdinHaykin1) July 3, 2023
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Photo credit: JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images
