The print editions of newspapers eventually end up in the waste paper bin. Online stories remain archived on the internet in perpetuity. This is why we take particular issue with The Independent, which published on 26 May, an article entitled “Secret memo shows that Israel knew Six Day War was illegal” (different to the headline banner on the print edition’s dramatic front cover). Disingenuously The Independent’s headline has labelled Israel’s actions to defend herself in 1967 as “illegal”. This, despite the so-called “secret memo” not actually relating to this issue at all.
(See here for why Israel’s pre-emptive strike in June 1967 was legal under international law and warranted in light of the mortal danger to the state’s continued existence.)
Regarding the content of the article itself, the events of 1967 continue to have a profound effect on today’s Middle East and it is a perfectly legitimate exercise to engage in historical analysis with the benefit of hindsight. While Theodor Meron is a credible source for The Independent’s assertion that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, it is worth noting that there are many other equally credible legal interpretations that draw contrary conclusions. (See here and here (PDF) for two such examples.) Thus, it is too early for The Independent to become the arbiter of international law based on the opinion of one legal mind.
But The Independent does not stop there. A related feature, “The Six-Day War: Forty years on” refers to a Nov. 2006 Peace Now report that “revealed that 15,000 acres, or 40 per cent of the West Bank settlements, were on privately owned Palestinian land, often by military order.” Settlements represent a contentious issue, not only within the international community but also within Israel and the Jewish world. However, even Peace Now was later publicly forced to concede that it had made significant errors in its statistics, potentially bringing the entire report into question. Surely The Independent’s Donald Macintyre could have verified this before stating Peace Now’s questionable statistics as fact.
Please write to The Independent on any number of the issues raised above – [email protected]
Talking points:
- The Independent’s online headline is deliberately misleading, historically and factually incorrect
- Theodor Meron’s legal opinion is one of a number of different legal interpretations – it does not conclusively “prove” the “illegalilty” Israeli settlements
- The Independent has used a questionable source for its statistics relating to settlement activity
DAILY TELEGRAPH’S BOTCHED PHOTO CAPTION
A Daily Telegraph update on the Lebanese army’s siege of the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp featured the following dramatic photographs together with this caption:
Palestinians race for shelter while peering over their shoulders at an Israeli missile [circled]. A cloud of dust rises after the bomb explodes
Shocked that the Lebanese army is getting weapons from Israel? We were. But even more shocking is that the photo has absolutely nothing to do with Lebanon. Here’s the real caption:
Nusseirat Refugee Camp, -: Palestinians run for cover as a missile fired by the Israeli military is seen nearly hitting its target during an Israeli air strike on Hamas’ Executive Force building in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza strip, 25 May 2007. Warplanes pounded the Gaza Strip for a ninth day today as Palestinians continued to fire rockets into Israel despite a call from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas for a truce.
Technically, the Telegraph’s caption isn’t inaccurate. But placing it with a report about a different refugee camp suggests a very different story.
Comments to The Daily Telegraph – [email protected]
to media bias.
