AP Road Map Update
An earlier entry pointed out a double standard in Associated Press reporting on violations of the road map peace plan. The AP was quick to point out that proposed Israeli building in Maaleh Adumim would be a violation of the peace plan, but didn’t even mention the plan when reporting on a Palestinian rocket being fired into Israel — a clear road map violation.
A new AP report about PA reluctance to disarm Hamas shows that while the wire service is moving in the right direction, the double standard remains.
The journalist does (eventually) note that the PA is required to disarm Hamas under the road map:
In the first stage of the three-phase road map peace plan, Palestinians must dismantle militant groups and Israel must freeze construction in Jewish settlements. Neither side has done so. …
“According to the road map, all terrorists must disarm and all terrorist groups must be dismantled and Hamas is a terrorist group and so they must disarm whether or not they join the political process,” said Paul Patin, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
It’s interesting, though, that in this story about a Palestinian violation of the road map, the journalist points out both the Palestinian and the Israeli violation of the peace plan.
This wouldn’t be a problem if it was a consistent AP practice. But in AP stories which focus on Israeli building (for example, the AP reports linked to in our earlier entry), both sides’ violations are not highlighted — only Israeli ones.
(In fact, one AP report on Palestinian arms smuggling — a road map violation — didn’t mention the road map at all, except when discussing Israeli building.)
More from SNAPSHOTS
Double Standards: Boycotts and Discrimination in MassLive
May 16, 2025
Anti-Israel activists, including Harvard University’s Lara Jirmanus, a clinical instructor, seem to struggle with the concept of “discrimination.” Quoted in a May 14 MassLive article, “Harvard ‘failed to respond’ to 450 discrimination complaints. Staff hand-delivered [...]
Swarthmore Students Are Learning: It Was Never About Palestinian Rights
May 14, 2025
Students at Swarthmore College are so close to understanding the conflict. An article in the Swarthmore Phoenix details the frustrations of student activists with the college’s Students for Justice in Palestine. The gist of their criticism is [...]
AFP Arabic Stops Mislabeling Northern Israeli Communities ‘Settlements”
August 10, 2021
A view of Metulla, northern Israel (Photo by Hadar Sela)After failing to set the record straight last May when Agence France Presse's Arabic service repeatedly referred to Jewish communities in northern Israel as "settlements," the [...]
NY Times Praises Ilhan Omar’s Book While Glossing Over Her Antisemitism
August 19, 2020
A recent New York Times book review boosts Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) autobiography while glossing over her antisemitism. In the paper’s Aug. 16, 2020 edition, NYT reporter Christina Cauterucci writes: The memoir offers breathing room [...]
When TV Interviews of Ilhan Omar Constitute Journalistic Malpractice
August 11, 2020
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) documented animosity toward Jews and Israel was ignored in recent interviews by MSNBC and C-SPAN. MSNBC’s The Beat for July 23, 2020 included host Ari Melber’s 10-minute conversation at 6:16 [...]
Boston TV Station WCVB Teamed Up With Terrorist Supporter CAIR
July 7, 2020
WCVB-TV (channel 5) (Boston’s ABC network affiliate) recently misled area viewers about a matter involving antisemitic propaganda. This occurred on its local Sunday show Cityline hosted by Karen Holmes Ward who is described by the [...]
Harper’s Magazine Echoed Palestinian Propaganda Condemning Israel And America
June 2, 2020
Writing in Harper's, Kevin Baker condemns the U.S. Middle East peace plan [“The Striking Gesture,” Easy Chair, May 2020], mischaracterizing it as, “Give up all your [Palestinian] hopes and your holiest places, embark on a [...]