One Israeli commentator branded the slain journalists as elite Hamas terrorists, while others refused to recognize them as journalists, placing the term in quotes and even criticizing Netanyahu for apologizing over the Khan Yunis strike
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli army apologized for Monday's shelling of Nasser Hospital in Gaza's Khan Yunis – which killed journalists, medics and other civilians – several Israeli journalists cast doubt on the victims' status as journalists, with some going so far as to justify or even praise the incident.
i24NEWS Arab affairs analyst Zvi Yehezkeli claimed on the evening news broadcast that the slain journalists were "[Hamas elite] Nukhba terrorists in every sense" precisely because of their professional work documenting Gaza.
He said, "It may be that the message in striking the so-called 'journalists' is the realization in Israel of how much damage was done by those who broadcast the images of hunger and Hamas' one-sided narrative, continuing the legacy of Yahya Sinwar in the guise of journalism."
- The IDF has killed 189 journalists in Gaza. Why do their Israeli colleagues remain silent?
- Targeting truth: Israel's killing of Gazan journalists in Nasser hospital is no 'mishap'
- Despite Israelis' indifference, strike on Gaza hospital could change the course of the war
"Just consider how much cognitive damage those terrorist-journalists – or, as one could call them, Nukhba-journalists – inflicted on Israel," he added, alleging that the Palestinian reporters "shaped the situation on the ground and the perception of reality, which partly enabled the war and later lent Hamas legitimacy. If Israel has decided to eliminate the journalists, better late than never. The spearhead of Hamas' military arm is those Nukhba-journalists – so in my view, Israel did well to kill them, though too late."
Throughout his remarks, the on-screen caption read: "Israel's message in striking 'journalists,'" with the word journalists in quotation marks. This segment aired hours after the IDF spokesperson had already stated midday, saying the army "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians and in no way directs strikes at journalists as such."
Those killed in the strike included Reuters photographer Hussam al-Masri, Al Jazeera cameraman Mohammad Salameh, two freelance photojournalists – Mariam Dagga and Moaz Abu Taha – and journalist Ahmed Abu Aziz.
On Tuesday, Yehezkeli released a video on Facebook claiming his commentary had been misunderstood, though he did not retract his words. "Everyone knows that a journalist in Gaza cannot be a free journalist and is subordinate to Hamas. I certainly did not call for killing journalists, only those who use 'press' credentials as cover to fight, which makes them terrorists in every respect," he said.
Earlier in the war, while still a pundit on Channel 13, Yehezkeli criticized Israel's opening strike on Gaza as too soft and argued that it should have killed 100,000 people immediately.
Channel i24 NEWS declined to comment.
https://archive.is/HlrYB#selection-669.0-1029.21
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.