Reuters Throws Vital Context Overboard

UPDATE Reuters contacted HonestReporting to acknowledge that the relevant information had been included in the correspondent’s original report but had been inadvertently removed in the editing process. The following important context has been added to…

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UPDATE

Reuters contacted HonestReporting to acknowledge that the relevant information had been included in the correspondent’s original report but had been inadvertently removed in the editing process.

The following important context has been added to the article as a result of our complaint:

One of the reasons Israel maintains such tight restrictions on Gaza’s water is to prevent the smuggling of weapons by militant groups.

* * *

Only a few weeks ago, The Guardian featured the difficulties of Palestinian fishermen in Gaza while failing to mention why Israel would possibly need a naval security zone in the area.

Now it’s the turn of Reuters, which refers to Israeli “restrictions preventing fishing boats going out more than six nautical miles.” The story focuses only on restrictions and alleged efforts by Israeli security services to use Palestinian fishermen for intelligence gathering.

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As we already noted with The Guardian, there is no essential context. Restrictions on Palestinian fishing are undoubtedly causing difficulties for Palestinian fishermen. But is Israel deliberately setting out to strangle the Palestinian fishing industry in a fit of malevolence?

Of course not.

The main reason, not mentioned by Reuters, why Israel needs to enforce a maritime exclusion zone is the smuggling of weapons to Hamas. As recently as May 2016, the IDF reported on the arrest of a Gazan fisherman:

In a combined effort between the Israeli Navy, ISA, and the Israeli Police, forces arrested Salim Jamal Hassan Na’aman in April 2016. He was apprehended after his vessel deviated from the designated fishing zone.

Na’aman explained to his investigators that he was involved in smuggling weapons, ammunition, and materials used to manufacture rockets intended for Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, he conveyed information on Hamas plans to use fishermen to disguise terror activity and how fisherman support smuggling efforts between Gaza Strip and Egypt.

There have also been other attempts to exploit the fishing zone by bringing in weapons to the Gaza Strip from the sea in craft disguised as fishing boats such as in the IDF video below from 2015.

How could Reuters possibly omit this vital context?

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Tags: fishermen, fishing, Gaza, Hamas, Lack of context, naval exclusion zone, Reuters, success

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.