IDF troops in Hebron destroyed the homes of the terrorists who killed Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem in a gun battle earlier this month at the Judea Junction. Forces from the Ari Battalion, who lost their peers in the battle, were among those who participated in the operation and secured the perimeter as the terrorists' homes were destroyed. Ari Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel L. spoke about the operation and the memory of the two fallen soldiers.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article never says that the demolitions took place during an Israeli offensive in Hebron that, by the same week, had displaced 4,969 Palestinians from 780 families, put the city under military closure and seized homes for use as barracks. Without it, a reader believes the operation in Hebron was confined to the homes of two attackers.
"A week ago, in a battle with terrorists at the Judea Junction, the soldiers from the Search and Rescue Brigade Ari Battalion fought to defend the citizens of the State of Israel," the commander stated. He added, "Two heroes, Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, fell during the battle. We will continue to act in their spirit and honor their memory."
Arutz Sheva tells the demolition of homes in Hebron as a tribute to two fallen soldiers, quoting only their battalion commander and never naming a single Palestinian. It dates the attack to the wrong month, against its own earlier reports. It also does not mention the wider offensive in Hebron that displaced thousands of Palestinians the same week.
One side gets the space
Minor
“Ari Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel L. spoke about the operation and the memory of the two fallen soldiers.”
Why this matters
Arutz Sheva gives its only quoted voice to the commander of the unit that secured the demolitions. The rest of the article is his words.
The impression it gives
The demolition is a story about soldiers' grief and memory, with nobody on the other side worth hearing.
The context
The people whose homes were destroyed and the Hebron residents caught in the offensive are never heard or even named. The article never uses the word Palestinian. Anadolu reports the Hebron Municipality and the Palestinian Prisoners Club speaking about the same operation.
How we know
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “Palestinian”.
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)
The article never says that the demolitions took place during an Israeli offensive in Hebron that, by the same week, had displaced 4,969 Palestinians from 780 families, put the city under military closure and seized homes for use as barracks. Without it, a reader believes the operation in Hebron was confined to the homes of two attackers.