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Media roundup: Questions raised by death of a Palestinian boy By Amir Mizroch April 27, 2001 |
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On Monday Mohannad Nizar Moharib,
a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy from the Al-Amal neighborhood in Khan
Younis, was tragically killed while attending a funeral at the Khan Yunis
cemetery near the settlement of Neve Dekalim in the Gaza Strip. Moharib
was hit in the head by a bullet probably fired from an IDF position guarding
the settlement. According to IDF regulations, soldiers guarding settlements
are not allowed to initiate shooting attacks against Palestinians, but are
required by regulation to return fire if fired upon.
At Monday's funeral a Palestinian honor guard fired a 21-gun salute as a sign of respect for their fallen comrade, a fellow Force 17 officer. An IDF spokesperson told the Associated Press that bullets fired at the time of the 21-gun salute started hitting the Neve Dekalim settlement, and the IDF guard post adjacent to it. In response, IDF troops returned fire in the direction it was coming from -- the Khan Yunis cemetery. Palestinian boy shot during funeral Comment: The original AP news article is well balanced because it gives both sides of the story. The following examples from the world press have been taken to show how the same story has been manipulated and changed. "Israelis shoot dead 12-year-old Palestinian
boy" Comment: Although quoting Agencies in its story, the Jordan Times leaves out the part about the Israeli military saying that the 'sign of respect' was aimed at the Jewish settlement. Army 'opened fire' Comment: The BBC does not even mention that there was a Jewish settlement in the area. "Palestinian gunmen fired into the air during
the funeral procession, which traveled the streets of Khan Younis to the
cemetery, near the neighboring Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim. Witnesses
told the news agency that the gunfire that killed the boy came from the
direction of the settlement. Eleven people were wounded." "As the body was being lowered into the ground
at the Khan Yunis cemetery, next to a Jewish settlement, several dozen
Palestinian gunmen fired 21 shots into the air as a sign of respect, said
Eyad Saadoni, a math teacher who was present. As the [IDF] gunshots rang
out, Palestinian mourners scattered in panic, with women and children
running barefoot through the sandy streets, many seeking shelter in abandoned
buildings." Comment: What about the several dozen Palestinian gunmen? Did the CBS reporter lose sight of them, only seeing the panic stricken, barefoot women and children? Actually, the gunmen made their way to the District Coordinating Office at Neveh Dekalim and opened fire at IDF forces inside. "The Israeli troops stationed inside Neve Dekalim
settlement, fired massive machinegun fire towards the funeral, killing
Mohannad and injuring 13 Palestinians, 2 of them in serious condition" "Dozens of guns held aloft towards a cloudless
sky open fire simultaneously in honor of the martyr Madi Khalil Madi,
25, killed by the Israeli army. No sooner has their salvo been discharged
than a crackling of small caliber arms can be heard. "That is the
Israelis, they are very close," says an old man. When the shooting
stops, there is another dead body in the small cemetery - that of Mohannad
Muhareb, killed by a bullet in the head." Comment: For 'cloudless sky' read 'cloudless
sky over Neve Dekalim.'
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