Two States for Which People??
Today’s editorial in Ha’aretz, about the Fatah convention that’s taking place in the West Bank, leaves readers with a bit of a riddle.
In one sentence the editorial writer insists, “From Bethlehem, [Fatah] sent Jerusalem an unequivocal message: The Palestinian national movement’s strategic choice is still two states for two peoples.”
But a mere three sentences later, there’s the following admission: “The convention rejected the demand to recognize Israel as the ‘state of the Jewish people.'”
So there’s the riddle. If Fatah supposedly accepts “two states for two people,” but rejects the “state of the Jewish people,” then who exactly are the two people that Fatah accepts having a state??
To their discredit, much of the media have glossed over the Abbas’s open rejection of Israel as the Jewish state, even while, paradoxically, reporters continue to recite boilerplate language casting Abbas’s “moderate” Fatah movement as accepting a two-state solution.
As made so clear in the self-contradictory Ha’aretz editorial, the question journalists need to start asking in light of Fatah’s position is: Two states for whom?
More from SNAPSHOTS
Haaretz Editorial Repeats Inaccuracy About East Jerusalem Arabs
April 17, 2018
Despite the fact that just last month Haaretz corrected a news story which erred on the status of east Jerusalem Arabs, an April 10 editorial again misrepresents about the rights of this population, stating: Palestinians [...]
AP and Times of Israel Correct,
Haaretz Retains“Explosive Bullets” ChargeApril 13, 2018
Update: To its credit, Haaretz has also corrected its piece. After intervention by CAMERA, the Associated Press and Times of Israel have commendably corrected stories relaying the outlandish claim that gunshot injuries with exit wounds [...]
‘Moderate’ Fatah Names Children’s Summer Camp After Murderer
April 12, 2018
Khalil al-Wazir and Yasser Arafat, Abbas' predecessor Fatah, the movement that dominates the West Bank-ruling Palestinian Authority (PA), has named a children’s summer camp after a terrorist. Major media outlets routinely describe both Fatah and [...]
Top Palestinian Official: Hamas is Using Human Shields in Gaza for Media Coverage
April 9, 2018
Mahmoud al-Habbash. Image courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch A high-ranking Palestinian Authority (PA) official, Mahmoud al-Habbash, has said that Hamas is sending civilians to die in violent demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border in order to [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Syria Violates Demilitarized Buffer Zone with Israel
April 8, 2018
Bashar al-Assad The Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad has placed tanks and heavy artillery inside a demilitarized border zone with Israel. Although Assad’s move violates a “decades-old agreement,” it was widely ignored by major U.S. [...]