May 14, 2021

Is Gaza burning the way social media portrayed it?

The coverage of the clashes in Jerusalem and the rocket fire that followed has focused disproportionately on Israel’s actions, either on the airstrikes that occurred or threatened evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and clashes in Al-Aqsa Mosque. This may not be surprising, but it also has helped frame the current conflict as largely a product of Israel’s alleged aggression, as opposed to a cycle set in motion partly by Hamas.

The most anti – Israel coverage, unsurprisingly, is in the Iranian and Turkish media. Iran and Turkey both support Hamas. Turkey’s pro-government Anadolu news agency has a dozen stories on Israel and each is more anti – Israel than the last. One says that Israel has killed 24 civilians and another says Israel arrested Arabs who protested in Jerusalem and reports about “Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa mosque.”

Ankara has stoked protests against Israeli diplomatic posts in Turkey, even though the regime has shut down Turkey to other protests, such as the recent May Day ones. Turkey uses the covid-19 pandemic to shut down all the critics but then encourages anti-Israel protests, the flames being fanned by pro government media. Turkey has vowed to “defend” the Palestinians. Anadolu also says it’s journalists were attacked in Jerusalem.

Iran’s media has also emphasized the “brutal repression” of Palestinians in “Al-Quds,” the Press TV term used for Jerusalem. Al-Quds is also the Arabic and Islamic term, but for major media to replace the word Jerusalem with “Quds” illustrates an agenda that is about more than just terminology. “Palestinian resistance launched operation Al Quds Sword as Israel kills 25 in Gaza raid,” is how Press TV says the events unfolded. This makes it seems like Hamas attacked Jerusalem with rockets in retaliation when in fact the opposite happened.

For CNN, the story is headlined “Israel launches air strikes after rockets fired from Gaza in day of escalation.” NBC says that “Jerusalem tensions boil over with rocket fire and at least 20 killed in Gaza.” This neatly captures a more accurate picture of what has transpired. There has been “pleas for claim as violence escalates’ ‘ says the BBC. The Guardian, however, sought to emphasize the “24 dead in Gaza after Jerusalem violence spreads.”

In most of the reports, the Palestinian rocket fire targeting Jerusalem and aiming some 200 Rockets at communities around Gaza is emphasized. Often the discussions of the rocket fire were put further down in articles or were made to seem like a retaliation for something Israel had done.

Some of the foods mislead with the number of people who have passed some reports claiming to have killed 20 people died when some reports mentioned there are more than 700 Palestinians have been injured since the outbreak of violence in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, including around the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. It isn’t clear from the report that Hamas had fired any rockets until the reader gets past the first several paragraphs in the Independent (UK) The report made it appear Israel just carried out this “wave” of air strikes, killing children, and then Hamas fired rockets. The report didn’t know that the UK had condemned the attack on Israel. However, in the US FoxNews, says that Gaza militants were killed as Israel “hits Hamas.” This seemed to be one of those rare headlines that put Hamas in the title, noting the actual perpetrator of the incitement and attacks on Israel. CBS also wrote that “Israel hits Gaza after militants the rocket attack” That headline at least explains the timeline of how this recent conflict had unfolded.

On social media, many have posted a video without context showing Israelis cheering on Jerusalem day as a fire rages near Al-Aqsa Mosque. The video is presented in such a way as to claim Israel is cheering attacks on Al-Aqsa, when in fact the context is very different. Little coverage seems to have focused on the rioting in many places in Israel and the West Bank or Hamas incitement as part of the cycle. We may never know what may have caused this attack and social media does a fantastic job in misleading people all over the world with a short clip which may not be the actual event.

Aishwarya Says:

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