"You omit that the village of al-Mughayyir has been under a blockade by Israeli military forces for over 2 weeks. According to Wafa News Agency, the Israeli army has sealed the two entrances of al-Mughayyir for over 14 days, preventing Palestinians villagers from entering or leaving, and forcing them to take long rough roads to reach their destination. This blockade further restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement who already face restrictions through fixed checkpoints, settler-only roads, and other physical obstructions."
May 29, 2023
To:
Josef Federman, News Director, Associated Press
Dan Taylor, Managing Editor, CTV News
Dear Mr. Federman and Mr. Taylor,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to request immediate changes to the article “Israeli military: Palestinian man killed after alleged stabbing attempt in West Bank settlement” by the Associated Press and published by CTV News on May 26, 2023.
Your article includes a misleading and inaccurate paragraph about an incident in the village al-Mughayyir near the city of Ramallah. The article reads:
“Meanwhile, Jewish settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and torched five vehicles at the village of al-Mughayyir near the city of Ramallah, the official Palestinian news agency reported. It said five farmers were beaten and injured by the settlers. Israeli media reported that Israeli forces were sent in to bring the situation under control. There was no immediate comment from the military.”
You omit that the village of al-Mughayyir has been under a blockade by Israeli military forces for over 2 weeks. According to Wafa News Agency, the Israeli army has sealed the two entrances of al-Mughayyir for over 14 days, preventing Palestinians villagers from entering or leaving, and forcing them to take long rough roads to reach their destination. This blockade further restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement who already face restrictions through fixed checkpoints, settler-only roads, and other physical obstructions.
As such, to write that “Israeli forces were sent in,” is somewhat inaccurate and misleading, as they were already present in enforcing their blockade. I believe this requires a correction. I insist that you correct the article and provide additional context regarding the Israeli military blockade of al-Mughayyir village.
Second, your headline “Israeli military: Palestinian man killed after alleged stabbing attempt in West Bank settlement” is misleading and confusing. It implies that Alaa Qaysieh was killed as part of an Israeli military operation rather than by an armed Israeli settler.
As such, I insist that you update your headline to read “Palestinian man killed by armed Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank.”
Finally, in your closing paragraph, you write “Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war.” Referring to these territories as “captured” gravely obscures the reality that they are militarily occupied. This is not an opinion but a matter of a settled consensus at the international level, as confirmed by the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Israel’s military occupation of these Palestinian territories is critical context for understanding the nature of and motivations behind the Israeli far-right government’s plan to expand illegal settlements on indigenous Palestinian land.
As such, I insist that you change “captured” to “occupied.”
I hope to see these changes promptly made. Should you wish to discuss this matter further, you can contact me at 438-380-5410.
Sincerely,
Tayla Shair
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East