Boston Globe Chooses Palestinian Terminology
March 22 Boston Globe:
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government has given final approval for the building of 3,500 new housing units in Maaleh Adumim, already the most populous Jewish settlement in the West Bank, Israeli officials said yesterday. The expansion is the largest single housing project on occupied Palestinian territory in years. (Dan Ephron)
April 2 Boston Globe:
Nasser recalled that the pope … criticized the barrier Israel is constructing on Palestinian territory. (Charles M. Sennott)
Twice recently, the Globe referred to disputed areas as “Palestinian territory,” in effect advocating Palestinian claims to the land at the expense of Israeli claims, Israeli security, and Israeli contiguity.
By contrast, the Globe seems willing to refer to the Shebaa Farms along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon as “a disputed area.”
Other recent inaccurate language at the Globe:
A factbox in a March 18 story which describes Fatah and Hamas tiptoes around the groups’ terrorism.
Israeli authorities have accused Fatah of terrorist attacks …
Hamas is divided into two wings: … an armed military wing carries out terrorist attacks designed to drive Israeli forces from the occupied territories …”
This language is skewed. Fatah groups have proudly claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks; and Hamas doesn’t seek to “drive Israeli forces from the occupied territories,” but rather to destroy Israel in its entirety.
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