Jacki Alexander
Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
There is no freedom of the press in Gaza. If journalists don’t follow Hamas’ guidelines for press coverage, they are arrested, beaten, and/or tortured.
These are not controversial statements; they are based on reports from Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International.
When journalist Hajar Harb revealed doctors in Hamas’ Gaza Health Ministry were arranging illegal medical transfers out of Gaza for Palestinians who did not require medical treatment — and profiting off of them — she was harassed and threatened by both the police and by the doctors.
Fouad Jarada was arrested for writing a Facebook post critical of Hamas’ patron, Qatar. He was beaten and whipped during his detention.
Ismael el-Bozom was arrested and beaten for “drawings and writings critical of Hamas” that were uploaded to his Facebook account.
Amer Balousha was arrested for “Misuse of Technology” — a crime that does not exist in Palestinian law — for daring to post about corruption among Hamas leaders. He was beaten in custody and told, “It’s forbidden to write against Hamas, we will shoot you.”
In 2014, the Foreign Press Association called out Hamas for having “harassed, threatened or questioned [foreign reporters] over stories or information they have reported through their news media or by means of social media.” This claim was later confirmed by a Hamas official, who explained, “the security agencies would go and have a chat with these people. They would give them some time to change their message, one way or another.”
The journalists’ crime? Reporting on terrorists firing rockets from civilian areas, which meant to Hamas that these reporters were “collaborating with the occupation [i.e. Israel].”
That’s also why Al Jazeera immediately stopped an interview last year with an elderly Palestinian woman in Gaza who explained that the lack of food and water in Gaza wasn’t a result of aid not coming in. “All the aid reaches the Gaza Strip … Hamas takes everything to their homes,” she said.
Hamas not only stifles the messaging coming out of Gaza, but actively works to shape the narrative in its favor.
Just this week, Uvda — Israel’s premier investigative journalism show — divulged new information gleaned from Hamas’ plan for the October 7 attack. The New York Times previously reported on the plan, code-named “Jericho Wall,” but Uvda went further and revealed that Hamas always intended for journalists to “join the brigades and broadcast the operation in real time.”
Of course they did. In addition to providing important propaganda for domestic consumption, this allowed them to reframe their massacre of Israeli civilians as a heroic act of decolonization. Or, as they stated in their 18-page manifesto: “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7 was a necessary step and a normal response…”
Hamas is well aware of the power of narrative, and is actively trying to impact public opinion in their favor. And, it’s working.
With the international media largely unable to access Gaza during the war, more outlets and individuals are relying on “independent” voices broadcasting on social media.
But true independent voices are precisely the ones that Hamas has spent the last two decades silencing. Those that are left, have simply changed their message.
So, when international media outlets utilize Gazan journalists, photojournalists, and freelancers — without the disclaimer that they are a mouthpiece for Hamas — they are complicit in spreading misinformation that has real world consequences for news consumers and for Jews far beyond Israel’s borders.
Global attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions are at an all-time high. The fuel fanning these flames is the inaccurate reporting about Israel, oftentimes based on Hamas’ narrative:
Famine. Genocide. Ethnic cleansing. Al-Ahli hospital. Stealing Palestinian organs.
These false accusations have led to attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions from Tunisia to Dagestan. In America, antisemitic attacks are reaching “historic levels” according to FBI Director Christopher Wray — and that was four months ago.
Mainstream media organizations know that the news they are getting from Gaza is compromised. It’s tainted by Hamas’ oversight. Yet, they continue to amplify and legitimize these messages by giving them a platform, without even the bare minimum of a disclaimer.
So, the next time you read or watch news coming out of Gaza, here is your disclaimer: Hamas approves this message.
The author is the CEO and President of HonestReporting.
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