Abbas’ Memo to Palestinian Journalists
Al-Aqsa Brigades members with a missile near Rafah crossing/Photo by Reuters
MEMRI reports that in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV on Jan. 9, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas castigated the Palestinian media for failing to report that 90 percent of the rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza land on Palestinian territory:
We should not consider the truce a favor that we are doing to others. We are not doing Israel any favor. We are giving a gift to our own people. The truce is for the sake of our people. What is the use of entering into conflict with the factions now? What is the use of missiles? I would like someone to give me even one benefit. Just one. Yesterday, when I was coming from the Erez crossing, I was greeted by two missiles. One of them hit Abu Iskandar’s office. What’s the use of that? Ninety percent of the missiles hit our own people. They are fired, then come back and land on our homes – killing and wounding, killing and wounding… Unfortunately, you in the media do not highlight this fact. You don’t highlight this. This must be made clear. Go and see where these missiles land. This is one aspect. As long as this is useless, why are we doing it? Only to say we are resisting?
This is not resistance. With these missiles – which kill us – we are giving the Israelis a pretext to send planes to attack us, or to make supersonic booms, making our children deaf and paralyzed, and so on. You must tell the truth. You, the entire media… These missiles – what use are they? But all you say is: a missile was launched here and struck there… You should…
You are not objective bystanders. You are citizens.
Any observer of the media is right to criticize journalists for overlooking an important aspect of the conflict. But reporting every aspect of the conflict is the professional role of an objective journalist, a point that Abbas seems confused about.
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