"Specifying that these four individuals were “settlers” provides important context about why Palestinians may be hostile to settlers, especially as the extremist right-wing Israeli government today announced 1,000 more illegal settlement housing units in the occupied West Bank, in addition to existing plans. To ignore such context fails to capture the reality between Jewish-Israeli settlers and indigenous Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank and the near impunity of settlers who are backed by the Israeli army."
June 21, 2023
To:
Brandie Weikle, Senior Producer, CBC Radio
Tom Harrington, Host, The World This Hour
Dear Ms. Weikle and Mr. Harrington,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my concern for a segment from The World This Hour aired by CBC News Radio One CBT on June 21, 2023.
The segment featured a summary of global news from around the world, including the death of four Israeli settlers in a shooting near the illegal settlement of Eli in the occupied West Bank. The segment however contains misleading language and fails to provide important context.
The transcript of the segment reads:
“Israel says Palestinian gunmen killed 4 people near an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.”
The four Israelis killed were in fact settlers of the illegal settlement of Eli located in the central occupied West Bank. The establishment of Jewish settlements is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and considered a war crime under the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Specifying that these four individuals were “settlers” provides important context about why Palestinians may be hostile to settlers, especially as the extremist right-wing Israeli government today announced 1,000 more illegal settlement housing units in the occupied West Bank, in addition to existing plans. To ignore such context fails to capture the reality between Jewish-Israeli settlers and indigenous Palestinian residents of the occupied West Bank and the near impunity of settlers who are backed by the Israeli army.
Second, the news segment fails to provide important context regarding the Israeli raid of the Jenin refugee camp. While you mention that six Palestinians were killed, you fail to specify that two children were shot by Israeli fire, 15-year-old child Ahmed Youssef Saqr and Sadil Ghassan Turkman who died this morning from gunshot wounds to the head (bringing the total number of Palestinian casualties to seven). You also fail to state that Israeli forces wounded Palestinian civilians with live bullets, stun grenades and tear gas. This context not only demonstrates the brutality of Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians but also provides important context about the killing of four Israeli settlers.
I insist that such context and information is included in future news segments about the Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp and Israel-Palestine more broadly.
It is essential for listeners to understand that the killing of the four Israeli settlers by Palestinian militia members is a direct result of the brutal raids, arrests, and incursions by Israeli forces, not to mention destructive and violent rampages by illegal Israeli settlers.
I hope that CBC The World This Hour takes immediate action to provide this critical information in future news segments about the current events ongoing in occupied Palestine.
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