As HonestReporting has pointed out on numerous occasions, slapping “opinion” on an article does not relieve a publication of its duty to remain faithful to the facts. In one recent instance, it appears that Newsweek failed to internalize this journalistic principle.
On February 11, the news magazine published an opinion piece about the plight of Issa Amro, a self-proclaimed nonviolent activist from the West Bank city of Hebron. The article titled, Israel Criminalizes Nonviolent Palestinian Resistance—Then Calls Us Terrorists, written by Gaza Strip-based writer Muhammad Shehada, plays loose with the truth on multiple occasions.
Shehada uses the case of Issa Amro to promote the former’s real agenda: downplaying Palestinian terrorism. This article will examine the most contentious claims one by one.
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Issa Amro’s So-Called “Commitment To Nonviolence”
First of all, the entire piece is based on the false premise that Issa Amro was, to quote Newsweek, only “indicted for nonviolent resistance.” By unjustly depicting Amro as some sort of Palestinian Gandhi, the author tries to get readers to sympathize with a Palestinian who, in fact, has been accused and convicted of violence:
Rather than turn his frustration into violent resistance, Issa has instead chosen a different path. He committed his life to nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience. […] For despite his commitment to nonviolence, Issa was convicted this week on six charges by an Israeli military court, whittled down from an indictment of 18 charges.”
The article fails to mention the exact charges against Amro. Had Newsweek presented the full facts to its readers, they would find out that the Hebron activist might not be as nonviolent as he is depicted. The 2016 indictment charged him with incitement, taking part in riots, attacking soldiers and civilians, and interfering with Israeli security operations in the area.
In January, an Israeli military court found Amro guilty of six out of eighteen charges. The court not only convicted him of protesting without a permit, which can be classified as nonviolent resistance, but also ruled that there was enough evidence to prove the charges of obstructing Israeli security forces and assaulting a private security guard.
There are additional indications as to Amro’s violent disposition. On several occasions, he went on social media to call for a “Third Intifada”. Although it is unclear what exactly Amro was trying to incite, it is worth noting that the first and second intifadas consisted of large-scale terror attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. Moreover, Youth Against Settlements, the NGO founded by the Hebron activist, has glorified violence against Israel and spread antisemitic tropes on the organization’s Facebook page.
Related Reading: The Second Intifada: Israeli Society Terrorized
A False Depiction of Hebron
Newsweek‘s description of Hebron is another severe distortion of reality. The way Hebron is portrayed makes one wonder if the author, a writer and activist from the Gaza Strip, has ever visited the West Bank town:
[…] About 800 heavily guarded settlers live in the midst of 167,000 Palestinians. This situation has resulted in segregated roads, harsh curfews, and severe restrictions on Palestinian movement. The Israeli settlers are protected by Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilian law, while many of their Palestinian neighbors like Issa live under military occupation and military law.”
In fact, the 1997 Hebron Protocol, agreed upon by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, divided the city into two areas. The vast majority of Hebron (80 percent), referred to as H-1, is administered by the Palestinian Authority. Under the arrangement, Israel is only responsible for Jewish Hebron (H-2). The Jewish community of Hebron, with a history dating back thousands of years, comprises just 3 percent of the city, but because of repeated attacks against Jewish civilians, increasingly harsh security measures have been imposed to safeguard their rights to live there.
Related Reading: Unprovoked Carnage: The Hebron Massacre of 1929
If the Hebron Protocol discriminates against anyone, it is against the centuries-old Jewish community. While Arabs like Issa Amro have freedom of movement, and can visit Israeli-controlled H-2 after going through a security check, the Palestinian Authority bans Jews from visiting Arab H-1 .
And with regards to the article’s criticism of Israel’s use of military law, this too lacks substantial context and nuance. Ironically, when Jerusalem proposed the application of Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, it was lambasted by the same activists who now blast the Jewish state for trying Palestinians in military courts. But if Palestinians were to be subject to Israeli civil law, that would be tantamount to Israel annexing the West Bank. Therefore, Israeli law does not apply to the area and military rule does.
Zero Right To Talk About ‘Nonviolent’ Resistance
As the article goes on, author Muhammad Shehada reveals his actual agenda. By the end of the piece, he concludes that Palestinian leaders who advocate for armed resistance, because they say that negotiations have not worked, are “not wrong” – stopping just short of openly condoning violence. Given the writer’s track record, that statement is hardly surprising.
Just two weeks ago, he called upon US President Joe Biden to “engage constructively” with the Palestinian Authority after the planned May election, “even if includes (sic) representatives deemed as terror-supporters, from Hamas or the Popular Front to Liberate Palestine.”
In other articles, Shehada seems to excuse attacks perpetrated by terrorist groups. For example, he has justified the launching of incendiary balloons towards southern Israel by calling them “distress signals,” while criticizing the Jewish state for defending its citizens against the real threat that they pose.
Related Reading: Gaza Balloons A Bursting Terror Problem
Furthermore, Shehada has whitewashed Palestinian Authority payments to convicted terrorists by calling them a “canard,” falsely accused the IDF of “senseless butchery” of unarmed protestors during the Great March of Return, and defended US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib after she wore a T-shirt that erased Israel off the map.
Newsweek not only allowed this writer a platform in the form of a lengthy op-ed to defend a controversial Palestinian activist, but also failed to fact check the inaccurate claims he made in the piece.
