يونيو: تحويل اللوم والتركيز الرواية الإسرائيلية

Editor's Note: This article is part of the Press on Palestine series, an initiative by Palestine Square. It includes selections from June 2024. Press on Palestine highlights bias in mainstream American reporting on Palestinian and Arab-Israeli affairs.

Even before the accelerated genocide in Gaza, Western media almost exclusively centered on the narratives presented by the Israeli regime. This trend persisted into the eighth month of Israel’s assault on Gaza. As the Israeli regime continued to block essential aid into Gaza, it attempted to shift blame onto international organizations such as the United Nations or onto Palestinians themselves. 

By uncritically repeating these claims, Western media continued to provide cover for the deliberate starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as incursions by soldiers and settlers, who are ethnically cleansing Palestinians in the West Bank.   

1. Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2024
Israel to Pause Fighting Along Southern Route in Gaza to Ease Aid Blockage by Doy Lieber

Lieber’s article starts with an opening sentence describing Israel’s intent to pause the fighting along a narrow strategic route in southern Gaza, supposedly to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid. The line frames Israel’s actions as a humanitarian effort and overshadows the occupation and military aggression in Gaza.             

The article also minimizes Palestinian suffering, only addressing it briefly, while mostly focusing on military actions. One line — "pressure is piling on Israel to improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where more than 1.7 million people have been displaced in Israel’s fight with Hamas" — mentions displacement, but makes it seem secondary to Israel’s military goals. Furthermore, there are statements in the article that emphasize Israel’s aid efforts, when Israel has made no such attempts to ever aid the population they are ethnically cleansing. 

The article intentionally fails to question the consistent blocking of aid into Gaza and the limitations imposed on what little is allowed inside. By stating that“humanitarian aid into Gaza rose to more than 5,600 trucks in April from around 2,900 in February,” Lieber presents a bit of data but is careful to omit the dire conditions in Gaza created by the Israeli regime, while also omitting that such transfers —  many of which are targeted by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) – hardly make a difference to a starving population that is being carpet-bombed. 

2. New York Times, June 27, 2024
Israeli Soldier Is Killed During Raid in West Bank, Military Says by Matthew Mpoke Bigg

In both the headline and the opening line, Bigg’s article sets a tone that laments the death of an Israeli soldier — a member of the IOF, which the UN considers to be an institution that targets and kills children — and omits the context of the illegal occupation of the West Bank and wider Palestine. The article focuses on pushing a narrative that paints Israelis as victims and law enforcers,  overshadowing the complexities of the conflict and the impact on Palestinian communities.

Mpoke Bigg writes: “The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, said this month that Israeli forces and settlers had killed more than 500 people in the West Bank since Oct. 7. In the same period, 24 Israelis, of whom eight were members of the security forces, were killed in the West Bank and in Israel in clashes or what Israel called attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank.” This presents a comparison of casualties, but fails to provide context on who is committing the violence. 

3. The Washington Post, June 26, 2024
Israel blames U.N. for Gaza aid crisis amid fresh reports of starvation by Annabelle Timsit and Anika Arora Seth

The article reiterates propaganda provided by the Israeli government, such as placing full responsibility on the United Nations for Gaza’s aid crisis. It highlights comments from an Israeli spokesperson — David Mencer — wherein he criticizes U.N. agencies such as UNRWA for causing bottlenecks and falsely claims that non-U.N. agencies are more effective in delivering aid. Mencer also claims that U.N. agencies are “perpetuating this conflict” and not effectively doing their job. The article fails to detail how Israel’s military actions have created and further exacerbated the crisis. Timsit and Arora Seth offer legitimacy to these lies by not contesting them. 

When it comes to the number of casualties, both Israelis and Palestinians were presented in the article, but it shows bias in how it was presented. The article gives exact numbers for Israeli casualties, while for Palestinian casualties, it includes the statement that the Gaza Health Ministry “does not separate civilians from fighters,” which could make the provided numbers appear less credible to the reader, even though these figures are conservative. This makes the Palestinian death toll seem less clear and could reduce the focus on civilian losses in Gaza.