The Ban on the PA in Jerusalem
When a Palestinian conference was banned from Jerusalem yesterday, who’s to blame? The AP’s Sarah El Deeb originally had it that oppressive Israeli policies are at fault:
The [Palestinian conference] was banned since it was backed by the Palestinian Authority, which Israeli law prohibits from operating in east Jerusalem, police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
CAMERA pointed out to the AP that bilateral peace accords prohibit Palestinian Authority activity in Jerusalem. The Declaration of Principles and the Interim Agreement stipulate that the Palestinian Council shall have no authority in Jerusalem during the interim period. Moreover, the Note for the Record attached to the Hebron Protocol restated that all Palestinian Council offices and activity remain in areas under Palestinian jurisdiction — in other words, outside of Jerusalem.
The result? A (slightly) improved updated story:
The gathering was banned since it was backed by the Palestinian Authority, police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby. The authority is barred from operating in east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in 1967 soon after capturing it.
It seems that because the ban can’t be blamed on Israeli law, there’s no point mentioning the real reason. After all, why draw attention to the fact that Palestinians are violating the accords they signed?
More from SNAPSHOTS
AP Avoids Calling Farrakhan Comments “Anti-Semitic”
November 9, 2018
For some mysterious reason, the Associated Press felt Louis Farrakhan's mutterings on international relations deserve close attention. "Louis Farrakhan, in Iran, warns Trump a Mideast war possible," a Associated Press headline announced, as if the [...]
Israeli Peace Offers, Palestinian Rock Throwing Are M.I.A in Post Report
July 26, 2018
A June 28, 2018 Washington Post report, “Prince William visit Jerusalem’s holy sites, concluding historic visit,” omitted key context and details about the Duke of Cambridge’s trip to Israel and areas controlled by the Palestinian [...]
Media Story About Ultra-Orthodox Responsibility for Lengthy El Al Delay Disputed
July 11, 2018
Israeli journalist Sivan Rahav Meir reports in The Times of Israel today ("That Ultra-Orthodox flight delay? It didn't happen") that media claims, based on a Facebook post by Israeli rapper Chen Rotem, that a group [...]
One Haaretz Page-One Sentence, Lots of Errors
July 11, 2018
One sentence in a page-one article of Haaretz's's English print edition yesterday packed in multiple errors. Headlined "Netanyahu: Israel to close commercial Gaza crossing over airborne firebombs," the article erred: Palestinians began flying the devices [...]
Media Largely Ignore Alleged Hamas Payment to Dead Baby’s Family
June 25, 2018
A New York Times caption which definitively claims that Layla Ghandour "fell ill after inhaling tear gas," despite the fact that the accompanying article itself acknowledges that the story involving tear gas was disputed Western [...]
PCUSA Stands By While Palestinian Activist Harassed by Extremist
June 20, 2018
Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid walks away from an aggressive and hostile “intersectionality” activist Bassem Masri outside the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly taking place in St. Louis. (Screenshot from Twitter.) Palestinian human rights [...]
AFP Whitewashes Gaza’s Serial Arsonists as ‘Activists’
June 19, 2018
June 20 Update: Multiple Media Outlets Amend Captions Calling Gaza Arsonists 'Activists' Numerous Agence France-Presse photo captions in the last couple of days misidentify Gazans responsible for airborne arson attacks which destroyed 28,000 dunums of [...]
Newsweek Headline Fail on Israeli Attacks in Syria
June 18, 2018
A grossly misleading Newsweek headline ("Israel Bombs Syria to Stop Refugees Fleeing to Europe, Netanyahu Says," June 14) falsely suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is bombing Syria in order to [...]