IDF says Hebron raid continues, one more gun found, 6 suspects nabbed in nearby West Bank villages
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The military says its operation in Hebron following Friday’s deadly shooting attack on the outskirts of the West Bank city continues, despite reports that the IDF told Israel’s political leadership days ago that the objectives there have been met.
The army says troops and Border Police officers found an M16 assault rifle during the recent searches in Hebron, bringing the total to three firearms found in the raid that began six days ago.
The operation has displaced thousands of Palestinian residents.
In other villages in the Hebron area, Border Police officers apprehended six wanted Palestinians overnight, including suspected Hamas operatives, who are allegedly involved in terror activity, according to the IDF and police.
In the attack on Friday, Hebron residents Mohammad Jaaba and Firas Jaaba opened fire on a checkpoint at the northern exit to the West Bank city, killing Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem and wounding three other soldiers. Both gunmen were shot dead by troops.
The Times of Israel attributes its claims about the Hebron raid, the weapons found and the six arrests to the IOF and police, and it states plainly that the operation has displaced thousands of Palestinians. The army and police are the only voices in the piece, while the displaced residents get one unsourced sentence and no voice of their own. Nothing in it misleads the reader about who did what.
One side gets the space
Minor
“The operation has displaced thousands of Palestinian residents.”
Why this matters
The Times of Israel gives the displacement of thousands of Palestinians this one sentence, with no figure, no source and no voice from the people forced out. Every other claim in the piece comes from the IOF or the police.
The impression it gives
A reader learns that the raid is a weapons search and an arrest sweep told by the army, and that the displacement is a side note.
The context
The Hebron municipality counted 4,969 people from 780 families forcibly displaced, and Hebron's relief committee spokesperson described families made to leave without time to pack and with no word on return. None of these voices appear.