IDF forces on Tuesday morning demolished a monument in the Samaria village of Madama that had for decades glorified terrorists who murdered Jews. During the operation, additional monuments were demolished in nearby villages, following demands by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and MK Tzvi Succot to remove memorials honoring terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria. Earlier, Smotrich and Succot, who chairs the Knesset Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria, submitted a document to the IDF identifying dozens of such monuments in Palestinian Arab villages.
Succot welcomed the operation, describing it as the result of his battle to end the public commemoration of terrorists. "After decades, the monument commemorating terrorists in the village of Madama has been demolished. This is an important achievement in our fight against the commemoration of terrorism and the transformation of those who murder Jews into heroes," he said. "It is unacceptable for those who harmed Jews and IDF soldiers to be commemorated and regarded as heroes by the next generation."
Succot concluded, "I commend the IDF for the operation and call for the continued removal of every monument commemorating terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria. We will not allow the commemoration of terrorism to become part of our public space."
Arutz Sheva reports the Israeli occupation forces' demolition of memorials in Palestinian villages entirely in the occupation's vocabulary. It calls the occupied West Bank "Samaria" and "Judea and Samaria" and never once says West Bank or occupied. In its own voice it states that the memorials honoured "terrorists who murdered Jews", a label that comes from the politicians who demanded the demolitions, and it names no one commemorated. It gives the last six sentences to one Knesset member and none to the villagers whose memorials were destroyed.
Uses the occupation's words
Serious
“Samaria”
Why this matters
The headline places the demolitions in "Samaria", the Israeli state and settler name for the northern occupied West Bank.
The impression it gives
A reader believes the demolitions took place in an ordinary Israeli region where the army is acting on home ground.
The context
Madama is a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank. The International Court of Justice has found the occupation unlawful. Other reports of the same raid call it the West Bank, and the article never uses that name or the word occupied.
How we know
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
The first sentence repeats the name in the outlet's own voice and attaches it to the village itself, so that Madama is introduced as a village of "Samaria".
The impression it gives
A reader takes Madama to be a village inside Israel rather than a Palestinian village under military occupation, where foreign soldiers came in and destroyed a local memorial.
The context
Madama lies in the occupied West Bank. Ynet's report of the same morning names it alongside Rujeib, Azmut, Iraq Burin and Beit Furik, all Palestinian communities under occupation.
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
In its own voice the outlet describes the whole territory where the ministers want memorials removed as "Judea and Samaria".
The impression it gives
A reader believes Israeli ministers are setting rules for public space in Israel's own territory.
The context
The demand covers Palestinian villages across the occupied West Bank. There Israel's occupation is unlawful, and the ICJ has found its settlements illegal. The article never tells the reader this.
How we know
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
Israeli occupation forces on Tuesday demolished a memorial in Madama, a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, and memorials in nearby villages, after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and MK Tzvi Succot demanded their removal.
States one side's claim as fact
Minor
“monuments glorifying terrorists”
Why this matters
The headline states as fact, with no attribution, that the memorials glorified terrorists.
The impression it gives
A reader believes it is established that every memorial destroyed honoured terrorists.
The context
The label comes from the campaign by Smotrich and Succot, who drew up the list of memorials. The article names no person commemorated and gives no account from the villages.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“submitted a document to the IDF identifying dozens of such monuments”
“Succot concluded, "I commend the IDF for the operation and call for the continued removal of every monument commemorating terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria.”
Why this matters
The outlet gives Tzvi Succot the closing sentences, as it did from S4 onward. No resident of Madama or the other villages is heard.
The impression it gives
A reader hears only the politician who demanded the demolitions, and learns nothing of who the memorials honoured or what the villagers say.
The context
Ynet's report shows Palestinians were the first to report the demolitions, so their account was available. The article includes none of it.
On the recordReporting on Israel's assault on Gaza and on the Greens' Zionism motion has given Israeli, pro-Israel and Israeli-government sources far more space than Palestinian voices, who are quoted least when the story concerns them.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)