Prosecutors indicted six suspected members of a terrorist cell on Tuesday morning, after they were accused of establishing rocket production infrastructure intended for use against Israel and its security forces.
The prosecutor's declaration was filed following an investigation by Israel Police's Judea and Samaria District Central Unit and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), during which weapons were seized from the suspects.One of the suspects admitted during questioning that he had been involved in establishing the network and its objectives. He also revealed that rocket launch tests conducted by members of the cell had demonstrated successful results in terms of the rockets' power and range.
According to his testimony, the cell members did not stop after their initial tests. Instead, they analyzed the results of each launch and made improvements before conducting further tests, seeking to enhance the capabilities of the rockets they were producing.Another suspect admitted during questioning that he had helped the cell obtain explosives and had sold its members weapons, which investigators believe were among those seized during the arrests.As previously reported, six suspects, all residents of the Jenin area in their 30s, were arrested in recent months as part of an investigation conducted by the counterterrorism division of the Judea and Samaria District Central Unit and the Shin Bet.They were suspected of involvement in establishing an infrastructure for producing rockets and explosive devices intended for use against Israel and its security forces.Jenin terror cell manufactured explosives, conducted three rocket testsInvestigators determined that the cell had manufactured a rocket body and explosive devices and had carried out three test launches.
The investigation also revealed that the main suspect had been in contact with an individual outside Israel who provided information through a messaging application about materials needed to manufacture explosives.During the operation, security forces seized weapons, including an M16 rifle and an RPG component, along with documents and instructional materials containing guidance on manufacturing explosives and rockets.
The Jerusalem Post reports the indictment of six Jenin residents for an alleged rocket network but never says Jenin is in the occupied West Bank or that the six are Palestinians, and it places Jenin inside Israel by referring to a contact 'outside Israel'. The headline turns one suspect's account under questioning into an admission by several suspects, and the article reports the prosecution's case alone.
Uses the occupation's words
Serious
“an individual outside Israel”
Why this matters
The words 'outside Israel' describe a contact of a man from the Jenin area as being abroad. The article never names the West Bank, the occupation or the suspects as Palestinians.
The impression it gives
A reader takes Jenin, and the men arrested there, to be inside Israel.
The context
Jenin is in the occupied northern West Bank, as the Times of Israel reported about the same arrests. The ICJ has found Israel's occupation of the West Bank unlawful (R1). Other outlets named the six as Palestinians; the Jerusalem Post says only 'residents of the Jenin area'.
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)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “West Bank”, “occupied” and “Palestinian”.
The main suspect, a Palestinian from the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank, was in contact with a person abroad who sent information through a messaging app, investigators said.
Headline goes beyond the article
Serious
“suspects admit testing and improving rockets”
Why this matters
The headline says the suspects, in the plural, admitted testing and improving rockets.
The impression it gives
A reader believes several of the accused have confessed to the rocket tests.
The context
The body reports only one suspect describing the tests and improvements, and only as an account given during questioning. A second suspect is said to have admitted supplying explosives and weapons, not testing rockets.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“One of the suspects admitted during questioning”
Elsewhere in the article“According to his testimony”
Elsewhere in the article“Another suspect admitted during questioning that he had helped the cell obtain explosives”
Six indicted over alleged Jenin rocket network; one suspect described rocket tests during questioning, prosecutors say
One side gets the space
Minor
“He also revealed that rocket launch tests conducted by members of the cell had demonstrated successful results”
Why this matters
The verb 'revealed' presents an interrogation account as disclosed truth. The article draws every claim from prosecutors, police and the Shin Bet.
The impression it gives
A reader takes statements made in Shin Bet questioning as reliable confessions, with no other account available.
The context
The article has no word from the accused, their lawyers or their families, and does not say how or where the statements were obtained. It reports the prosecution's case alone.
How we know
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “lawyer”.