"Third, to describe the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank as a “response to a spasm of Palestinian violence” that has “surged” is deeply problematic and misleading. It obscures Israel’s role as an aggressor and occupier and disregards the power imbalance between Israel and the Palestinian people, of which the former has one of the “most advanced militaries in the world.” More importantly, such language rationalizes Israeli violence against Palestinians, “equating the oppressed with the oppressors or blaming the oppressed for the actions of the oppressor."
June 15, 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 corrections to the article “Palestinians say Israeli forces kill man in occupied West Bank” by the Associated Press (AP) and published by CTV News on June 15, 2023.
The article reports on an Israeli military raid and home demolition in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus which resulted in the death of 20-year-old Palestinian civilian Khalil Yahya al-Anis. However, the language used to describe the Israeli military operation is problematic and the article overall lacks important context.
First, the article fails to provide adequate context regarding Khalil Yahya al-Anis’ death as well as the repercussions of Israel’s raid and demolition of Usama Tawil’s home, a Palestinian accused of killing an Israeli soldier in October last year.
According to the Palestinian News Agency Wafa, Khalil was killed by the Israeli military who shot him in the head. 337 Palestinian civilians, including 4 children were also wounded by Israeli bullets or suffered from tear gas inhalation during the raid. Two other Palestinian civilians “were shot in the head and leg, one of them critical, and taken to hospital in Nablus.” Moreover, the demolition of Usama Tawil’s home displaced his parents and his sister – exemplifying the brutality of Israeli forces and military raids that are a daily reality for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank which often result in the avoidable injury and death of innocent civilians. The demolition of family homes is a form of collective punishment under international law.
I insist that you update your article to include this important context.
I also strongly suggest that AP include authoritative Palestinian sources and more information about Palestinian casualties. Israeli military sources often downplay the severity of military raids and can provide highly misleading accounts of the actions of their forces.
Second, the omission of the word “military” when referring to the Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank obscures the nature of these operations. In your article, you write:
“Israel has been staging near-nightly raids in the West Bank in response to a spasm of Palestinian violence early last year.”
By omitting the word “military,” you obscure and downplay the violence inherent in these operations. These operations involve heavily armed Israeli forces forcefully entering Palestinian homes to search, interrogate, photograph, beat, and arrest Palestinians, including young children and the elderly. They leave Palestinians – specifically children – traumatized as demonstrated by eyewitness accounts of children who couldn’t stop crying due to the sound of bullets and bombs.
As such, I insist that you correct your sentence to read:
“Israeli has been staging near-nightly military raids in the occupied West Bank…”
Third, to describe the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank as a “response to a spasm of Palestinian violence” that has “surged” is deeply problematic and misleading. It obscures Israel’s role as an aggressor and occupier and disregards the power imbalance between Israel and the Palestinian people, of which the former has one of the “most advanced militaries in the world.”[1] More importantly, such language rationalizes Israeli violence against Palestinians, “equating the oppressed with the oppressors or blaming the oppressed for the actions of the oppressor.”[2] According to the Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association, this is a form of anti-Palestinian racism.
As such, I insist that you update your description to accurately reflect Israel’s position as an occupier and the power imbalance between Israel and the Palestinian people.
I look forward to seeing the changes made and expect that such problematic language and inadequate context are not repeated in future articles.
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
[1] Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA), “Tips and resources for covering issues related to Israel and Palestine,” May 24, 2021, https://ijnet.org/en/story/tips-and-resources-covering-issues-related-israel-and-palestine
[2] Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association, “Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing and Manifestations,” April 2022, p. 2.