First, the headline and body refer to a “ceasefire.” Its description as “shaky” is wholly inadequate; a better qualifier would be “ephemeral” or “chimerical.” This is because, at last count, Israel’s military had killed over 600 Palestinians in Gaza since the so-called ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
Dear CTV editorial team:
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding your piece on Friday, titled “First Ramadan Friday prayers held at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque since ceasefire.” Unfortunately, the text has several shortcomings that we wish to bring to your attention so that similar issues can be avoided in future.
First, the headline and body refer to a “ceasefire.” Its description as “shaky” is wholly inadequate; a better qualifier would be “ephemeral” or “chimerical.” This is because, at last count, Israel’s military had killed over 600 Palestinians in Gaza since the so-called ceasefire took effect in October 2025. Neither CTV nor any other Western media outlet would refer to a period during which Palestinians had killed 600 Israelis as a “ceasefire” and it is inappropriate to do so here. While the very end of the piece does acknowledge “almost daily Israeli fire,” the failure to mention the high number of Palestinians killed leaves the reader ignorant of what life has been like for them over the past four months.
Second, you note that Jews call al-Aqsa mosque’s surroundings “The Temple Mount,” while to Muslims it is “The Noble Sanctuary.” While this parallelism may seem appropriate in the name of balance, it is not. East Jerusalem forms part of the West Bank, which was occupied by Israel in 1967. That occupation is universally recognized as illegal, a position confirmed by the International Court of Justice in 2024. As a result, in accordance with guidance issued by the Institute for Middle East Understanding, the Palestinian name should be used by default (indeed, the Arabic name of “al Haram al-Sharif” would be best). Just as CTV would never refer to West Jerusalem by first stating that Palestinians call it al-Quds, it should not use the Israeli term for occupied land other than exceptionally when the context makes it necessary.
Third, while we appreciate your giving voice to three Palestinians, it is disappointing that their statements are mostly lamentations of their sad lot, i.e., smaller-than-normal attendance at Friday prayers and the bombing of their mosques. Although you cannot invent quotes not given by your interviewees, it seems unlikely, for example, that none of them spoke the name of Israel as the party that is preventing them from praying at al-Aqsa and that destroyed their mosques. We would encourage you to put greater emphasis on statements such as Mohammad Kollab’s, that Palestinians “want to rejoice and live” and “are not a people destined only for destruction and killing.” All too often, Western media focus on “woe-is-us” statements that dehumanize Palestinians, reducing them to one-dimensional caricatures who passively assume the burden of suffering that is due to an unknown cause and an unnamed actor.
Fourth, you refer to 3,000 Israeli police officers having been “deployed across Jerusalem” and repeat their claim that “their presence was not meant to show aggression or force but was aimed at providing help in case of an emergency.” To parrot Israel’s statements with no pushback or skepticism is to abdicate the profession of journalism in favour of that of stenography. Is it really necessary to deploy almost 10 per cent of Israel’s entire police force for such a purpose? What type of emergencies were contemplated? What instructions did those officers receive? What emergencies have occurred in the past that could explain such a large deployment? How have Israeli police conducted themselves in the past in such situations? How did these officers behave during this deployment? And how credible is the statement when, a short drive away, Israel has faced numerous accusations of genocide from the United Nations and both international and Israeli human rights groups? There is nothing in the report to suggest that any of these questions – or, for that matter, any questions of any kind – were asked.
We hope that you will consider the foregoing in your future reporting on Palestinians.
Sincerely,
Adam Allouba
Media Advocate
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
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