"Put like this, readers could easily assume it is Hamas who is solely responsible for the lack of freedom instead of Israel, which is misleading and false. As I mentioned above, Israel is considered an occupying power under international law, and it has effective control over Gaza. As such, reporting needs to be clear and leave no doubt as to which party is responsible."
April 2, 2024To:
Yasmine Hassan, Producer, CBC Parliamentary Bureau, CBC News
Barbara Schmunk, Senior Writer, CBC News
Dear Ms. Hassan and Ms. Schmunk,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME.org), Saskatoon Chapter, to comment on your article: "Desperate to escape war, Palestinians pay a private company thousands to leave Gaza," published in CBC News on April 2, 2024. I want to start by thanking you for drawing attention to the immense challenges facing people trying to leave Gaza.
Your article describes the immense financial cost, but you also hint at the emotional toll leaving Gaza takes. You give voice to Amin and how he is leaving behind his father and extended family: "The decision to leave the Gaza Strip was super super hard." Informed readers will realize that Amin may not see his family alive again. Considering Israel's imposed starvation, the overcrowding due to Israel's repeated illegal forced population transfer, Israel's destruction of sanitation infrastructure and the resultant spread of disease, combined with Israel's continued bombing and shooting and the total destruction of the health system, the possibility of Amin's family being killed or dying is very high. The situation has been ruled as a "plausible genocide" by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and is now confirmed as such by UN experts.
I appreciated that the article included a relevant link to CBC The Current's "Visa program failing Palestinians with family in Gaza" as well as your reference that Amin "couldn't wait any longer" for Canada's temporary visa program to process his application, indicating Canada's program has been of no use to him so far.
I also noted that you are using a more correct form of language, avoiding the passive form and assigning responsibility to Israel for its actions: "Israel's responding offensive in Gaza has killed 32,552 people according to the local health ministry" is a vast improvement over the unfortunately still prevalent use of the passive language: "people died."
However, I would like to point out some concerns about the section headed "Getting out of Gaza."
You write: "Neighbours Israel and Egypt have controlled the movement of goods and people to and from the strip under a joint blockade that began after Hamas took control of the densely populated strip..." This is a problematic sentence.
- It appears to put Israel and Egypt on an equal footing when it comes to control of the movement of people and goods. However, since 2006, Israel has total control over what or who enters and exits Gaza. This includes not only would-be international travelers; it is well documented that Israel also blocks or delays medical travel of patients (including children) needing life-saving medical care in Israel. (UNOCHA, Gisha.org, B'tselem.org, dci-Palestine.org)
- Israel is not a "neighbour" but a military occupier of the Palestinian territories since 1967. The ICJ is currently considering the legality of this occupation. As the occupier (and yes, the ICRC and international community do consider Gaza occupied), Israel has a duty to ensure the basic needs of the occupied population are met (article 55, Geneva Convention IV). Even before Oct 7, Israel has never accepted this responsibility. In 2019, the World Health Organization even predicted that Israel's blockade of Gaza would render it unlivable by 2020.
- Saying Hamas "took control" is misleading. Hamas is an Islamist political party that also has a military wing that was freely and fairly elected in 2006, according to international (including Canadian) observers.
- It would be relevant to give the reason for the population density: after the 1948 and 1967 wars, Israel denied refugees the universal "right of return" enshrined in international law.
In the next sentence, you re-state, "Hamas took over in Gaza," and follow this immediately with a quote from Egyptian journalist Mohannad Sabry saying, "People in the strip have not been guaranteed the basic human right to freedom of movement." Put like this, readers could easily assume it is Hamas who is solely responsible for the lack of freedom instead of Israel, which is misleading and false. As I mentioned above, Israel is considered an occupying power under international law, and it has effective control over Gaza. As such, reporting needs to be clear and leave no doubt as to which party is responsible.
Thank you for telling the story of one of the many Palestinians whose Canadian relatives are desperate to reunite with them and I hope you will consider my suggestions in future reporting.
Renée Nunan-Rappard
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