Palestinian Scissor Stabbers Turned Into Victims of Israel

Two Palestinian teenage girls are shot while carrying out a terror attack in Jerusalem. The Daily Mail's headline portrays them as victims of Israel.

By November 25, 2015

UPDATE

In what can be considered a partial success, the Daily Mail has amended its headline, which now reads as follows:

 

dailymail261115

 

While the headline still infers that the Palestinian teenagers are victims, the headline now makes it clear that they were shot in response to a stabbing that they had already carried out rather than just a “threat.” An improvement but still not good enough.

The Daily Mail, has, however, taken on board our other criticisms. The article has now been amended to state that the gas station attack was a fatal stabbing, while the casualty figure has been updated.

 

* * *

Most people will have been shocked that two Palestinian teenage girls were responsible for a terrorist attack in the heart of Jerusalem on Tuesday. Given the incitement emanating from Palestinian leaders and the media, it is not surprising.

This is how the Daily Mail’s Mail Online site headlined the story:

 

dailymail241115

 

These Palestinians were not shot by Israeli security forces for “threatening them” with scissors – an elderly man had already by this point been injured and the girls clearly represented a serious danger to everyone around them.

Their young age and the fact that these two Palestinian teens were armed with scissors as opposed to knives should not detract from the plain and simple fact that they made the conscious decision to try to kill Israelis shopping in a market.

The headline turns the Palestinian attackers into the victims and instead portrays Israelis as the party at fault.

In addition, the article text when referring to other recent terror attacks states: “A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli soldier in the stomach and lightly wounded two women before he was shot dead at a petrol station.”

It fails to state that the Israeli soldier was actually killed in this stabbing attack on the very same day of the Palestinian teen terror attack.

The text also cites 18 Israelis killed in terror attacks. In fact, the number of terror victims since mid-September, which the story says is the beginning of this wave of violence, is now 23 (it was 22 when this article was published only a few days ago). This also includes an Eritrean citizen, a Palestinian and an American Jew who were all victims of terrorist attacks. There is no reason to omit them from the casualty figures.

 

[sc:graybox ]Please write to Mail Online and request that the headline and text are appropriately amended – [email protected]

 

[sc:bottomsignup ]

© 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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