"Specifying that settlements are “illegal,” provides important context about why Palestinians may be hostile to settlers and why they may support armed resistance groups like the Lion’s Den. To ignore such context fails to capture the dynamic between Jewish settlers and indigenous Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank and the near impunity of settlers who are backed by the Israeli army."
May 8, 2023
To:
Marco Werman, Host, The World
Matthew Bell, Journalist, The World
Chris Hardland-Dunway, Senior Producer, The World
Tinku Ray, Managing Editor, The World
Dear Mr. Werman, Mr. Bell, Mr. Dunway, and Ms. Ray,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) regarding a news segment that featured an interview with journalist Matthew Bell, from The World radio program, aired by CBC Radio One 94.5 FM on May 5, 2023.
The segment reports on an Israeli military operation in the city of Nablus, resulting in the death of three Palestinian men allegedly responsible for the car attack that killed three members of a British-Israeli settler family.
I appreciate that Matthew Bell specifies that the Israeli military are conducting frequent military raids in the occupied West Bank. I also appreciate that he mentions the frustration Palestinians in the occupied West Bank feel towards the Palestinian Authority and the increasing right-wing extremism of the Israeli government.
The segment, however, lacked overall context about the recent raid in Nablus and why Palestinians may support armed resistance groups like the Lion’s Den.
The segment fails to mention that the violent military raid in Nablus wounded at least nine other Palestinians and resulted in at least 150 people suffering from tear gas inhalation, including children. In 2023, Israeli forces have repeatedly conducted military raids into various neighbourhoods and towns in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. These operations involve heavily armed Israeli forces who enter Palestinian homes to search, interrogate, photograph, beat, and arrest Palestinians, including young children and the elderly.
While you state that the three members of the British-Israeli settler family killed in the car attack lived in a “Jewish settlement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,” it is important to specify that they were residents of the illegal settlement of Efrat. The establishment of Jewish settlements are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and are considered a war crime under the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Specifying that settlements are “illegal,” provides important context about why Palestinians may be hostile to settlers and why they may support armed resistance groups like the Lion’s Den. To ignore such context fails to capture the dynamic between Jewish settlers and indigenous Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank and the near impunity of settlers who are backed by the Israeli army.
I ask that such contextual concerns are addressed in all future reporting by CBC and The World.
Should you wish, you can contact me at 438-380-5410 for more information.
Sincerely,
Tayla Shair
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East