Don’t Bank on Hamad’s Word
Hamas Spokesman Ghazi Hamad: Just because he says so doesn’t make it so
Taking Palestinian spokesman Ghazi Hamad on his word is not a wise move. The New York Times learned this lesson the hard way. On Sept. 12, the paper reported:
But Mr. Hamad points out that the charter of Israel’s conservative Likud Party calls for an Israel on both banks of the Jordan River, even as Likud governments have recognized the Oslo peace agreements of more than a decade.
The version the same day in the International Herald Tribune was:
But Hamad pointed out that the charter of Israel’s Likud party calls for an Israel on both banks of the Jordan River, even as Likud governments have recognized the Oslo agreements and a two-state solution.
The NYT and IHT ran corrections yesterday and today, respectively. The IHT correction reads:
A front-page article Sept. 12 about an announcement by the Palestinian president of an agreement to form a unity government misstated a provision of the charter of the Likud party in Israel regarding Israel’s borders. The charter defines the Jordan River as the eastern border of Israel and does not call for an Israel on both banks of the Jordan, though some early participants and leaders in the party took that position.
It wouldn’t be the first time Palestinian spokespeople provided misinformation. (See also here, here, and here.)
More from SNAPSHOTS
CNN’s Amanpour Condemns “power grab” By Israel’s Prime Minister and Others
April 1, 2020
We’ve said it often, but it’s worth repeating: Anyone interested in reasonably unbiased information about Israel (at least) should avoid the broadcasts of CNN’s Chief International Correspondent and Anchor, Christiane Amanpour. In characterizing responses to [...]
Seattle Media Oblivious To Imam’s Hateful Indoctrination Condemning Jews
January 7, 2020
The Masjid Ar-Rahmah mosque teaching – that Allah transformed Jews into apes and pigs for disobeying him – delivered by Imam (prayer leader) Mohamad Joban – was posted online by mosque personnel. This December 2019 [...]
AP Distorts: Bethlehem ‘Almost Completely Surrounded’
December 10, 2019
Over two years after improving inaccurate language falsely citing Israel's security "barrier surrounding the biblical city" of Bethlehem, the Associated Press once again misrepresents. AP's Joseph Krauss and Mohammad Daraghmeh wrote yesterday ("Palestinians in Bethlehem [...]
Reuters Errs on Administrative Detention For ‘Anti-Israel Activity’
November 5, 2019
The Ofer Prison, near Ramallah (Photo by Tamar Sternthal) A Reuters article today egregiously misrepresents administrative detention, erroneously asserting that it is mainly applied to "Palestinians suspected of anti-Israeli activities," when in fact the Israeli [...]