U.S. Officials Condemn West Bank Attacks as Netanyahu Casts Doubt on Them

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.2 findings

Supported by

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has downplayed accounts of recent extremist attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank amid the annual olive harvest.

American and European officials have condemned a spate of violence in the West Bank, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel sought to cast doubt on the attacks.

Israeli extremist attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have escalated in recent weeks amid the annual olive harvest. On Friday, masked assailants were filmed beating Heidi Levine, an American photographer for the Washington Post covering the harvest outside of Ramallah.

Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said on Saturday that the Trump administration was “very disturbed” by the footage and was seeking more information about the attacks. He said Washington had “asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff.”

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said on Saturday night on social media that the attack on Ms. Levine was “a despicable act of terror,” and called on the authorities to prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.

Earlier on Saturday, masked men had attacked Palestinians and a European diplomatic convoy in the Christian town of Taybeh, where they had been participating in the olive harvest. Bernard Baudoux, a visiting French mayor, was also attacked, according to the French foreign ministry.

The European Union denounced the violence and, in a statement on Sunday, the French foreign ministry called on Israel to take measures to stop “these acts of terror.”

What we found (2)

The New York Times reports the condemnation of a wave of attacks on Palestinians, a photographer, diplomats and a French mayor in the occupied West Bank, and calls the attackers Israeli extremists. It never once calls them settlers, although Belgium, the EU and Canada did, and other reports of the same events did. In each incident it names them only as masked assailants or masked men, and it even paraphrases the EU's statement without the word settlers.

Hides who did it
Serious
“masked men had attacked Palestinians and a European diplomatic convoy”
Why this matters
The Times names the attackers in Taybeh only as "masked men".
The impression it gives
A reader believes the attackers in Taybeh were unidentified, and does not learn that they were settlers from the settlement movement.
The context
Belgium's foreign minister, the EU and Canada all said settlers carried out the Taybeh attack, and other outlets reported it that way the same day. The article never uses the word settler.
How we know
- Al-Monitor reported“Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians, European diplomats and a French mayor in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Belgium's foreign minister said”Israeli settlers attack Palestinians, European diplomats in West Bank, Belgium says (opens in a new tab)
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“Canada joins the European Union and our European allies in condemning the latest attack in the West Bank by violent settlers”EU, Canada condemn Israeli occupier attacks on Palestinians, European diplomats in West Bank (opens in a new tab)
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “settler”.
Show it in the article
“masked assailants were filmed beating Heidi Levine”
Why this matters
The Times calls the people who beat the photographer "masked assailants" and says nothing more about who they were.
The impression it gives
A reader is left with no idea who beat Heidi Levine.
The context
Reuters reported that settlers beat the American photojournalist.
How we know
- Al-Monitor reported“a day after settlers beat an American photojournalist”Israeli settlers attack Palestinians, European diplomats in West Bank, Belgium says (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“The European Union denounced the violence”
Why this matters
The Times paraphrases the EU statement as denouncing "the violence" and removes the attackers the EU named.
The impression it gives
A reader believes the EU condemned violence in general terms, without naming who carried it out.
The context
The EU statement named the attackers: it condemned "the latest attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank, including on European diplomats".
How we know
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“The EU strongly condemns the latest attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank, including on European diplomats”EU condemns Israeli occupier attacks on Palestinians, European diplomats in occupied West Bank (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
“Bernard Baudoux, a visiting French mayor, was also attacked”
Why this matters
The Times writes the attack on the French mayor in the passive voice and leaves out who attacked him.
The impression it gives
A reader learns that the mayor was hurt but not who attacked him.
The context
Baudoux told Reuters he was attacked by masked settlers while harvesting olives near Taybeh.
How we know
- The Independent reported“Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, told Reuters he had been harvesting olives near the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh”Palestinians and European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers in West Bank (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Written straight
On Saturday, masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, a European diplomatic convoy and a visiting French mayor in the Christian town of Taybeh, a day after settlers were filmed beating the American photographer Heidi Levine.
One side gets the space
Minor
“masked men had attacked Palestinians”
Why this matters
The Times names the American photographer and the French mayor, and quotes American and European officials, but gives the Palestinians who were attacked no names and no voice.
The impression it gives
A reader learns that the attacks matter because foreigners were hurt, while the Palestinian victims stay a faceless group.
The context
Other reports of the same day carried Palestinian voices, including Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh, who called the attack a small example of the daily terrorism Palestinians face.
How we know
- Al-Monitor reported“Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the attack, calling it a small example of the "daily terrorism" to which Palestinians are subjected.”Israeli settlers attack Palestinians, European diplomats in West Bank, Belgium says (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article

How other outlets reported it

Anadolu Agency (English)EU, Canada condemn Israeli occupier attacks on Palestinians, European diplomats in West Bank (opens in a new tab)
Anadolu Agency (English)EU condemns Israeli occupier attacks on Palestinians, European diplomats in occupied West Bank (opens in a new tab)
The IndependentPalestinians and European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers in West Bank (opens in a new tab)
Al-MonitorIsraeli settlers attack Palestinians, European diplomats in West Bank, Belgium says (opens in a new tab)

Spot something we missed? Report this article

More from The New York Times

Everything we scored from The New York Times

See how 84 outlets covered this story

U.S. Officials Condemn West Bank Attacks as Netanyahu Casts Doubt on Them

Hides who did it

One side gets the space

How other outlets reported it

More from The New York Times