Where’s the Coverage? Prisoner Dies in Palestinian Custody
On March 2, Khaled Abu Toameh reported in the Jerusalem Post that Ayman Samarah, a 40-year-old Palestinian from Jenin, died while in custody at Jericho Prison, one of the Palestinian Authority’s biggest prisons in the West Bank. Almost no major news outlet picked up the story. A Google News search turned up mostly blog posts and tweets.
Contrast that with the widespread coverage of the case of Arafat Jaradat, a 30-year-old Palestinian who died in Israeli custody. Actually you don’t have to. In American Thinker, Leo Rennert does that for us:
…When it came to Jaradat’s death, mainstream media, led by the New York Times and the Washington Post, went all out with a slew of articles – Israel claiming it was probably a heart attack and Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority screaming “torture” even before the autopsy could be completed. Predictably, the Times and the Post also put more stock and gave greater prominence to Palestinian propaganda than to Israel’s explanations and methodical autopsy.
But when it came to Samarah’s death in a Jericho prison run by Abbas and the PA, there was no coverage at all in either the Post or the Times. Not a single word. Even though families of Palestinians detainees have held sit-in strikes at the Jericho prison, alleging torture of their kin. Sadly, this is all too familiar a pattern in Palestinian territories – in the West Bank, under Abbas control, Hamas prisoners can expect brutal treatment, while in Gaza, run by Hamas, it’s Fatah detainees who tend to complain of torture. But there’s no media interest.
Rennert wrote that on March 4. That was over a week ago. And still, no major news stories.
Why would the media cover the death of a prisoner in Israeli custody but not a prisoner in Palestinian custody? Is it possible that they are not truly interested in relaying the plight of Palestinian prisoners at all but only in focusing on something that might make Israel look bad? If not, one has to ask… Where’s the Coverage?
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 [...]