Adding to the long history of condemnation by the international community of Israel’s illegal settlements, the July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice reaffirmed “that the continued presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal” and states that “Israel must immediately cease all new settlement activity”.
To the CBC and Associated Press Newsrooms,
I’m writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concern about the article titled “Israel clears final hurdle to start constructing controversial West Bank settlement project” published on January 6, 2026.
For accuracy, the title in the CBC article should be corrected to: “Israel clears final hurdle to start constructing illegal West Bank settlement project”.
This change aligns with the terminology found in the body of the article, which correctly states: “The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.”
Notably, the word “controversial” was not in the original Associated Press article title, which instead reads: “Israel clears final hurdle to start settlement construction that would cut the West Bank in two”. For the same reasons of accuracy and consistency, Associated Press title should be corrected to: “Israel clears final hurdle to start illegal settlement construction that would cut the West Bank in two”.
Adding to the long history of condemnation by the international community of Israel’s illegal settlements, the July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice reaffirmed “that the continued presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal” and states that “Israel must immediately cease all new settlement activity”.
I kindly urge the CBC and the Associated Press to correct the title of the article accordingly, and ensure this and future coverage meets CBC’s journalistic standards and practices.
Sincerely,
Alison Jenkins