Media Distorts picture Of Mideast Violence Once Again
Major news media outlets are presenting a misleading picture of the current situation in Bethlehem, blaming an obscure, leaderless “wave of violence” – purportedly instigated by both Israel and the Palestinians – for a downturn in the number of tourists visiting the historic city this Christmas season.
The outlets in question completely ignore the rampant Palestinian incitement that is driving the current violence. Also missing from the reportage is the larger story of Bethlehem’s dwindling Christian population due to persecution at the hands of Muslims.
A case in point is an AFP article republished in numerous newspapers and websites titled, “Unrest Puts Heavy Damper On Bethlehem Christmas Festivities.”
The piece reports that “a wave of violence and protests has deterred many tourists from making the annual pilgrimage to the ancient city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, though much of the unrest has occurred away from Bethlehem, usually considered a safe destination.”
The article does not distinguish between Israeli victims of terrorism and Palestinian terrorists killed by Israelis in self-defense. The AFP states: “The violence has killed 120 on the Palestinian side, several of them in and around Bethlehem, as well as 17 Israelis, an American, and an Eritrean.”
Similarly, the Catholic News Service published an article titled, “Few Pilgrims, No Sales: Mideast Situation Dampens Bethlehem Christmas.” The first paragraph draws a moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorists and their victims as if both sides are equally to blame.
The article also distorts the cause of the violence, implying that “extremist Jews” provoked the Palestinians. “The most recent violence that has limited the tourists followed attempts by extremist Jews to visit and pray at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound, which is holy to both Jews and Muslim,” the article reads. The “extremist Jews” in question were guilty of wanting to pray at Judaism’s holiest site.
The Catholic News Service also fails to report that the Palestinian media fabricated a Jewish “threat” to the Al Aqsa Mosque in order to incite Palestinians to violence.
On the Temple Mount, the outlawed radical Islamic Movement has been mobilizing Arab youth in an attempt to smuggle fire bombs, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and stones into the site in order to attack Jews while Palestinian media outlets have been broadcasting misinformation about Israeli police storming the Al Aqsa mosque unprovoked. The goal seems to be to draw Israeli security forces into the sensitive mosque compound and thus fuel the cycle of rumors regarding Israeli incursions.
The Catholic News Service also neglects to mention that hundreds of Palestinians in October set fire to the Joseph’s Tomb complex, causing severe damage to the revered burial place, considered Judaism’s third holiest site.
Hamas And Salafists Negotiating Cold Truce
Hamas and Salafists in the Gaza Strip who adhere to the ideology of the Islamic State are in the process of negotiating a cold truce that would see jailed Salafists released from Hamas prisons in exchange for a cessation of rocket fire from Gaza. This according to sources in Hamas and the Salafist groups with knowledge of the mediation efforts.
Abu Ayna Al-Ansari, a senior Salafist militant in the Gaza Strip, confirmed to Breitbart Jerusalem that the talks are ongoing. He said most of the Salafi factions in Gaza are willing to cooperate with the initiative on condition that Hamas halts its policy of arresting Salafists and releases those in custody. Ansari said that the talks have not yet resulted in a complete agreement and further negotiations are needed.
An ISIS-affiliated group calling itself the Omar Hadid Brigades has been behind recent sporadic rocket fire from Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces retaliated against two Hamas targets and said it holds Gaza’s Islamist rulers responsible regardless of which group actually fired the rockets. The IDF retaliation causes financial damage to Hamas, which has been losing valuable equipment in the air raids.