After Correction, ABC Repeats Error on Settlements
Dec. 20 UPDATE: For Second Time, ABC Corrects: US Does Not View Settlements as ‘Illegal’
After correcting the very same error in an Associated Press story which appeared last month on its website, ABC News once again wrongly reports that “the United States considers Jewish settlements illegal” (“Donald Trump’s Pick for US Ambassador to Israel Signals Changes in US Policy“). A screen shot of the Dec. 17 erroneous claim by ABC’s Elizabeth McLaughlin follows:
The Associated Press correction which CAMERA prompted in November on the identical topic subsequently appeared in countless AP clients, ABC News among them.
The AP correction which appeared Nov. 21 on ABC’s news site stated:
In a story Nov. 16 about Israel’s settlement policy, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the United States considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal. While the United States opposes settlement construction, it does not take a position on its legality. Instead, it says that settlements are “illegitimate,” ”corrosive to the cause of peace” and “raise serious questions about Israel’s ultimate commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.” Most of the international community views the settlements as illegal.
Since the Reagan administration, which explicitly said it did not believe the settlements were illegal, U.S. administrations have instead characterized the settlements as an obstacle to peace and illegitimate. The current U.S. government, and numerous preceding American administrations, have not characterized the settlements as “illegal.”
CAMERA has contacted editors to request that ABC correct for the second time the incorrect claim the United States considers Israeli settlements illegal.
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