The article accompanying the video reads like a trailer for a Hollywood movie:
In a ‘tunnel city’ under the sandy soils of southern Gaza, Palestinian militants are preparing for the next conflict with Israel, as tensions in Jerusalem threaten to escalate.
The underground passageways leave no trace on the surface.”
Except this is no big-budget blockbuster — it’s a description of the terror tunnels used by the Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), by global wire service Agence France-Presse (AFP).
People reading AFP’s vivid account of masked militants roaming sophisticated subterranean passages — described as kitted out with “electric lights, a ventilation system and telecoms cables”– would never guess they were in fact reading about a group that is responsible for some of the worst terrorist atrocities in Israel’s history.
Indeed, the group, which is proscribed by the entire Western world, has carried out numerous horrific attacks on innocent Israeli citizens, including the Maxim restaurant suicide bombing which killed 22; the June 2002 Meggido junction suicide attack which killed 17; and the 2006 Tel Aviv shawarma restaurant bombing which left 11 dead.
Despite this, the words “terror” or “terrorist” do not crop up once in the entire article.
The piece reads as though the journalist was being taken on an exciting underground jaunt through the shafts that are being used by PIJ to launch attacks against the Jewish state. The writer even describes the scene as a “media tour”:
An Islamic Jihad official told AFP during a media tour that the movement has both defensive and offensive tunnel systems.
The latter ‘is used for taking Israeli soldiers captive, repelling Israeli ground offensives and carrying out various field operations’, said the commander.” [Emphasis added]
One can only speculate as to whether the journalist would refer to being shown around ISIS’ former Syrian stronghold of Raqqa in such a bizarre way.
The article’s accompanying video, which was posted as a separate story, presents an equally glamorous depiction of PIJ’s activities.
There is, however, some critical language in the written piece: reserved for Israel. The article suggests that the Jewish state has somehow invited the actions of PIJ by maintaining a blockade on the Gaza Strip in a bid to prevent terror attacks:
Residents of Gaza, a cramped, besieged coastal territory home to 2.3 million people, have long experience of using tunnels since 2007, when Israel imposed a crippling blockade in response to Hamas seizing power in the Strip.”
Back to the PIJ extreme makeover. The writer at one point attempts to humanize the militants using the tunnels, with a reference to how the network is also used to smuggle in a treat of “Kentucky Fried Chicken.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s well-founded worry about the vast expanse of tunnels is subtly dismissed as mere “fears” about how they could be used:
Israeli commanders fear militants could use such tunnels to seize Israeli personnel or civilians for use as bargaining chips in prisoner exchanges.”
Indeed, AFP neglects to mention the fact that tunnels like these have been used to kidnap Israelis, including the 2006 abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas.
With regards to the recent unrest roiling Israel’s capital city, AFP quotes numerous terrorists at length, which allows the global wire service to promulgate the demonstrably false accusation that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is under threat by Israel.
The article builds on this mischaracterization to then present the possibility of another conflict with Israel as a foregone conclusion that is somehow justified due to the aforementioned alleged danger faced by the Muslim shrine:
A short distance from one of the tunnel entrances, a group of fighters sit chatting under the trees.
‘We’ve received instructions to mobilise and be on high alert to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem,’ said one.
‘The rockets are on high alert and we’re waiting for the leadership to decide.'”
AFP also downplays the terror attacks that have so far claimed the lives of 14 Israelis over the past month, making reference to just “two deadly attacks in the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv.” In fact, there have also been attacks in the cities of Beersheva, Hadera and Hebron, as HonestReporting has detailed.
This is not the only thing minimized.
The mob violence at the mosque built atop the Temple Mount, which saw Palestinians armed with rocks, Molotov cocktails and other weapons incite riots, is simply labeled a series of “angry demonstrations” that prompted a “police crackdown.”
AFP’s piece falls short of what one would expect of a leading global news agency. Its starry-eyed review of PIJ diminishes the group’s stated goal: the obliteration of the Jewish state.
We encourage our readers to — politely but firmly — contact the AFP to ask for this piece to be taken down.
Liked this article? Follow HonestReporting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to see even more posts and videos debunking news bias and smears, as well as other content explaining what’s really going on in Israel and the region.
Featured Image: AFP Screenshot
