A vehicle belonging to a Jewish family was set on fire on Thursday evening on the perimeter road in the Gefen Ami farm in Gush Etzion. According to the residents, the arson was committed by Arab rioters who came from the nearby village of Beit Ummar. The incident comes amid a series of back-and-forth clashes between the Jewish farmers and Arab villagers. On Wednesday, Gefen Ami residents reported that Arabs had thrown rocks at them. The same day, residents from Beit Ummar claimed that Jewish rioters entered the village, where they set a vehicle on fire, seized an agricultural tractor, and damaged crops and greenhouses. 15 families reside in the Gefen Ami farm.
Despite the security incidents, the residents stress that they intend to continue developing the community and expanding Jewish presence in the area. The residents note that they closely coordinate with the IDF forces operating in the area. They say coordination with the forces enables swift responses to incidents and protects the families. Right-wing activist Netanel Bleicher, a resident of Gefen Ami, responded to the arson attack, saying: "We are witnessing the enemy's death throes as it realizes that it has no place here.
Thank God, the area is flourishing, and the people of Israel are returning to their land." Bleicher added: "We support the security forces and call on them to act decisively. The enemy in Beit Omer is the same as that in Khan Yunis."
Arutz Sheva calls Gefen Ami, an illegal settler outpost, a 'farm' and names the people of Beit Ummar only as Arabs, never using the word Palestinian. Its headline sets the car fire 'amid clashes', though the Jerusalem Post, citing Army Radio, reported that settlers from Gefen Ami had entered Beit Ummar the day before and set fire to Palestinian-owned vehicles. The article ends on a settler activist calling the village 'the enemy', with no one from Beit Ummar quoted.
Uses the occupation's words
Serious
“the Gefen Ami farm”
Why this matters
The outlet repeats "farm" when giving the number of families who live there.
The impression it gives
A reader believes 15 families farm land that is lawfully theirs.
The context
Gefen Ami is an illegal outpost that was the target of enforcement action against illegal outposts.
A vehicle was set on fire on Thursday at Gefen Ami, an illegal settler outpost near Gush Etzion in the occupied West Bank.
Erases a people's national identity
Serious
“Arab villagers”
Why this matters
In the headline the outlet names the people of Beit Ummar only as "Arab villagers".
The impression it gives
A reader is never told the villagers are Palestinians living under occupation.
The context
Beit Ummar is a Palestinian town. The outlet itself calls such people "Palestinian Arab" elsewhere. The word Palestinian appears nowhere in this article.
In its own voice the outlet again sets "Jewish farmers" against "Arab villagers". This casts the dispute as ethnic rather than one between settlers and a Palestinian town under occupation.
The impression it gives
A reader believes the dispute is between two ethnic groups of neighbours, not between settlers and Palestinians whose land is occupied.
The context
The coverage identifies the village as Palestinian and its property as Palestinian-owned.
“The enemy in Beit Omer is the same as that in Khan Yunis.”
Why this matters
The article gives its last four sentences to a settler activist. It ends on his line calling the village "the enemy" and likening it to Khan Yunis, with no response.
The impression it gives
A reader hears the settlers at length and the people of Beit Ummar only through one sentence framed as a claim.
The context
No Beit Ummar resident is quoted, and no Palestinian response to being called the enemy is given.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“residents from Beit Ummar claimed that Jewish rioters”