What we found

1. Hedges the documented record

   Serious

   “the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank”

   What the words do

   Haaretz places Hebron in "the West Bank" with no mention of occupation, and the word occupied appears nowhere in the article.

   What a reader comes away believing

   That Israeli forces expelling 2,000 people from Hebron are operating in a territory of undefined legal status, rather than in land the world's highest court has ruled unlawfully occupied.

   What is actually the case

   The International Court of Justice found in July 2024 that Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is unlawful, and other outlets covering this same siege wrote "the southern occupied West Bank".

   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)
   • Anadolu Agency (English) reported“The Israeli army continued its siege of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank for a second consecutive day”Israeli army continues Hebron siege for 2nd day, arrests 19 Palestinians in West Bank (opens in a new tab)

   Show it in the article

   Written straight

   Residents of Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, described the forced displacement of more than 2,000 people since Saturday as collective punishment.

2. Uses the occupation's words

   Minor

   “eviction”

   What the words do

   The headline calls the removal of more than 2,000 people an "eviction", the word for a lawful removal of tenants.

   What a reader comes away believing

   That an administrative or legal procedure took place in Hebron.

   What is actually the case

   The article's own first sentence calls it "the forced displacement of more than 2,000 people", and the defence minister has said the displaced may not return until the military finishes its operation.

   How we know

   • Elsewhere in the article“described the forced displacement of more than 2,000 people”
   • Anadolu Agency (English) reported“displaced residents would not be allowed to return”Israeli defense minister admits having forced 2,000 Palestinians from homes in West Bank city of Hebron (opens in a new tab)

   Show it in the article

3. Leaves out what changes the picture

   Minor

   What is missing

   The article never says what the siege followed: a shooting on Friday at a checkpoint at the edge of Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, and in which the two Palestinians who carried it out were themselves shot dead. A reader is left without the event Israel gives as its reason for sealing the city and expelling 2,000 people, and without knowing that the two men named as responsible are dead.

   How we know

   • i24News reported“They follow a shooting carried out on Friday by two Palestinians, Ahmd and Hamouda Al-Jabari, from the Ain Deir Bahha neighborhood, which resulted in the killing of two Israeli soldiers and the wounding of others.”Hebron siege: Palestinians evacuate amid fears of Gaza Scenario in the West Bank (opens in a new tab)
   • Anadolu Agency (English) reported“the Israeli army claimed that two Palestinians were killed in a shootout with Israeli forces”Israeli army continues Hebron siege for 2nd day, arrests 19 Palestinians in West Bank (opens in a new tab)

   Show where it belongs

4. Leaves out what changes the picture

   Minor

   What is missing

   The article does not report that Israel's defence minister Israel Katz publicly confirmed the forced displacement of around 2,000 Palestinians and said they would not be allowed to return until what he called "Hamas infrastructure" was dismantled. Without it a reader takes the expulsion to be a Palestinian claim rather than an Israeli policy stated on the record.

   How we know

   • Anadolu Agency (English) reported“Defense chief Israel Katz told public broadcaster KAN that displaced residents would not be allowed to return until what he called "Hamas infrastructure" in the city was dismantled.”Israeli defense minister admits having forced 2,000 Palestinians from homes in West Bank city of Hebron (opens in a new tab)

   Show where it belongs

5. Leaves out what changes the picture

   Minor

   What is missing

   The article does not mention that Israeli forces also destroyed structures in the Hebron area during the operation, and that the military gave little information about what the 2,000 expelled people were said to have done. A reader does not learn that homes and buildings were demolished alongside the expulsions.

   How we know

   • The Jerusalem Post reported“the IDF provided little information about the offenses of the 2,000 evacuated Palestinians”IDF, Shin Bet forcibly evacuate 2,000 Hebron Palestinians in response to deadly Hamas attack (opens in a new tab)

   Show where it belongs