Media Morphs Palestinian Terror Into Israeli Attack

As Israel's situation vis a vis Egypt becomes progressively worse, many media outlets are searching for explanations as to why…

By September 12, 2011

As Israel’s situation vis a vis Egypt becomes progressively worse, many media outlets are searching for explanations as to why the Egyptian “street” should be so angered by Israel. Nobody has yet mentioned decades of state-sanctioned anti-Semitism and incitement in the Egyptian media.

Instead, the deaths of five Egyptian soldiers accidentally killed as the IDF pursued the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the recent attack near Eilat, are posited as an immediate source of anger.

But look at how some media have inverted the incident. I was particularly struck by Sky News’s coverage of the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo:

Egyptian political analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah said: “This action shows the state of anger and frustration the young Egyptian revolutionaries feel against Israel, especially after the recent Israeli attacks on the Egyptian borders that led to the killing of Egyptian soldiers.”

So let’s get this straight – the terror attack launched from the Sinai has is now defined as an Israeli attack on the Egyptian border. Perhaps Sky News should reconsider using someone who appears to be  is less a politicized rather than a political analyst.

Sky isn’t the only one allowing a Palestinian terror attack to be spun as an Israeli offensive. Unsurprisingly, The Guardian’s Peter Preston writes:

It [the Egyptian street] doesn’t like five Egyptian border guards shot dead as the hapless byproduct of yet another Israeli reprisal raid.

“Reprisal raid”? Only a few weeks after the event and already, the historical revisionism has begun.

© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025

Simon Plosker

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020.

Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias.

Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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