Arutz Sheva / Israel National News, on West Bank, 26 October 2026

Arutz Sheva calls five Palestinians arrested in a raid on Qabatiya "terrorists" in its own voice, with no attribution, no charge and no evidence, while its own last sentence downgrades the same kind of people to "suspects". The report never says the village is in the occupied West Bank, using Israeli military labels such as the Menashe Brigade's area of operations and the Binyamin sector instead, and it states the army's "counterterrorism operation" as plain fact. No Palestinian resident or family appears anywhere in the piece.

9.1

Severe

out of 10

What we found

  1. Labels people on one side's word

    Severe

    “Five terrorists arrested in Qabatiya operation”

    What the words do
    The headline brands five arrested men "terrorists" in the outlet's own voice.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That five proven terrorists were taken off the streets of Qabatiya.
    What is actually the case
    The article offers no charge, no court, no named source and no evidence for the label. Nothing in the piece is attributed to anyone at all.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“were arrested last week during an operation”

    Show it in the article

    “Five terrorists affiliated with the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations”

    What the words do
    States as established fact both that the five are terrorists and that they belong to named armed groups.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That the men's membership of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a settled fact.
    What is actually the case
    The claim rests on the army account the piece reproduces; the article gives no source, no evidence and no response from the men or their families.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“the soldiers questioned suspects affiliated”

    Show it in the article

    “the reconnaissance soldiers arrested five terrorists”

    What the words do
    Repeats the label a second time, now attached to the soldiers' own act, so the arrest itself reads as proof.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That the arrest confirms what the men are.
    What is actually the case
    An arrest establishes nothing about guilt, and the article records no charge or hearing.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“were arrested last week during an operation”

    Show it in the article

    “the soldiers questioned suspects affiliated with the Hamas terrorist organization”

    What the words do
    Calls people "suspects" in the same piece that has already called arrested people terrorists, exposing that the earlier label was never more than suspicion.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That the outlet distinguishes the proven from the suspected.
    What is actually the case
    The outlet's own word "suspects" shows the basis throughout is suspicion by the army, yet five men are called terrorists outright in the headline and twice in the body.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“the reconnaissance soldiers arrested five terrorists”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    Israeli occupation forces raided the village of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank last week and arrested five Palestinians. The army says the five are affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad; that claim is unverified and no charges are reported.

  2. Uses the occupation's words

    Serious

    “in the Binyamin sector”

    What the words do
    Names a second area of the occupied West Bank by the army's sector label.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That Israeli troops are operating in ordinary Israeli territory.
    What is actually the case
    The Binyamin area is occupied Palestinian territory, ringed with settlements the ICJ has found illegal; the article gives the reader no word for its status.

    How we know

    • On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)

    Show it in the article

  3. States one side's claim as fact

    Serious

    “completed a separate counterterrorism operation”

    What the words do
    Adopts the army's characterisation of the raid as counterterrorism in the outlet's own voice, with no source named.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That the raids were established counterterrorism work rather than one party's description of them.
    What is actually the case
    The article attributes nothing to anyone and shows no weapons found, no charge and no finding by any court; the only account in it is the army's.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“conducted searches for weapons”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    Israeli occupation forces raided more than 50 locations and searched for weapons, the army said, and questioned people it described as suspects.

  4. Writes Palestinians out of their own story

    Minor

    “the forces raided more than 50 locations and conducted searches for weapons”

    What the words do
    Describes more than 50 raids with no mention that the locations are Palestinian homes and no word from anyone who lives in them.
    What a reader comes away believing
    That the raids touched only suspects.
    What is actually the case
    The Palestinians whose homes and village were entered appear nowhere in the article except as arrested men and suspects; no resident, family member or Palestinian official is quoted.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“operated at numerous locations throughout the area”

    Show it in the article

  5. Hedges the documented record

    Minor

    What is missing

    The article never says the raids took place in the occupied West Bank. Without that word a reader believes Israeli troops were arresting people inside Israel or in neutral territory, rather than carrying out raids in territory the ICJ ruled in July 2024 that Israel occupies unlawfully.

    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)

    Show where it belongs

Every underline is part of a finding. Press one to see why.

Bodycam footage reveals:

were arrested last week during an operation by the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit in the village of Qabatiya, in the Menashe Brigade's area of operations. During the operation in Qabatiya, which concluded last Tuesday, , including three affiliated with Hamas and two affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Meanwhile, soldiers from Battalion 202 of the Paratroopers Brigade . In the operation, soldiers from Battalion 202 operated at numerous locations throughout the area. During the operation, . In addition to the searches, as part of the counterterrorism operation in the area.

Read the original article on israelnationalnews.com (opens in a new tab)

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