Updated: Wall Street Journal Inflates UN Figure For Destoyed Gaza Homes
Nov. 19 Update: WSJ Responds, the Report is Correct
Today, an editor from The Wall Street Journal gave a detailed response to CAMERA’s correction request. The editor points out that this UNRWA reports cites 100,000 damaged or destroyed homes. In addition, the OCHA report that CAMERA previously cited (see below for our original, mistaken report) noted that, according to the initial assessment, 20,000 housing units, or six percent of the housing stock was damaged or destroyed. In addition, the report stated, “Current estimates indicate that 29 per cent of Gaza’s total housing stock has been affected, which is more than double the initial estimate.” CAMERA regrets the error.
Nov. 4 — In an Oct. 30 article (“100,000 Gazans still homeless as winter approaches, Says U.N.”), The Wall Street Journal overstates the United Nations’ figure for the number of homes destroyed or severely damaged this summer in Gaza by 500 percent.
The Journal reports:
In fact, the September 2014 Humanitarian Bulletin for the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs states, “According to initial estimates, 20,000 housing units, nearly six per cent of the housing stock, were severely damaged or destroyed during the hostilities. . . ”
Stay tuned for an update about a correction.
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