article by HANDALA on X.
One of the worst massacres of journalists in history is taking place while foreign reporters sit silently in their hotel rooms, and Palestinian journalists are being killed one by one.
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@HandalaPali is a fierce advocate for Palestinian self-determination, exposing Israel’s systematic atrocities like rape and torture since 1948, while championing boycotts and dignity over homeland loss—perfect for EaarthNet’s anti-elite, degrowth vibe.
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One of the worst massacres of journalists in history is taking place while foreign reporters sit silently in their hotel rooms, and Palestinian journalists are being killed one by one.
Israeli officials were aware that foreign news outlets would present events in a manner that favored their government if they were able to prevent journalists from covering the situation directly from Gaza.
"Hamas claims" or "Gaza family members allege" would be used to escape any coverage of new Israeli atrocities, if any were reported at all. Conflicting narratives, rather than observed facts, would be used to frame everything. Audiences would feel uncertain, hesitant, and detached.
Israel would conceal its atrocities by creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and debate. In this way, the inherent horror of genocide would be muted and diminished.
For the past 17 months, the most experienced reporters from across the world have been staying in Israeli hotels, observing the situation in Gaza from a distance. Human interest stories, which are fundamental to war reporting, have disproportionately highlighted the relatively small suffering of Israelis rather than the enormous tragedy befalling the Palestinians.
That is why Western viewers have been compelled to experience a singular day of horror for Israel, on 7 October 2023, with the same intensity as the 17 months of continuous atrocities in Gaza, which the World Court has deemed a "plausible" genocide perpetrated by Israel.
That is why the media have focused on the suffering of the families of approximately 250 Israeli captives as much as they have on the plight of 2.3 million Palestinians who are bombarded and starved to death week after week, month after month.
That is why the public has been led to believe gaslighting narratives that portray the devastation of Gaza as a "humanitarian crisis" instead of the canvas on which Israel is erasing all the known rules of war.
From doctors and relief workers to UN peacekeepers, Israel has defamed a long number of professionals in order to advance its genocide.
Western journalists have largely refrained from protesting their exclusion from Gaza over the previous 17 months for several reasons.
Due to the deliberate nature of Israel's bombardment, prominent media outlets have refrained from sending their correspondents to regions at risk of being struck by a 2,000-pound bomb.
The killing or execution of international journalists in Gaza by Israeli snipers would plunge media organizations in direct conflict with Israel and its influential lobbying machine.
The response would be wholly predictable, suggesting that the journalists died due to their collusion with "the terrorists" or that they were utilized as "human shields"—a dishonest excuse Israel has repeatedly employed to justify its targeting of medical personnel in Gaza and UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
However, a more significant issue exists. The mainstream media have preferred not to place their journalists in proximity to the "action," as this could result in a more accurate portrayal of Israel's war crimes and genocide.
The media's present detachment from the crime scene provides them with plausible deniability as they both-sides every Israeli atrocity.
In prior conflicts, Western journalists have acted as witnesses, aiding in the prosecution of foreign leaders for war crimes. This occurred during the conflicts during the collapse of Yugoslavia where the Bosnian genocide occurred, and would likely happen again if Russian President Vladimir Putin is ever brought to The Hague.
However, those journalistic accounts were utilized to incarcerate the West's enemies rather than its ‘’closest ally.’’
The media seeks to prevent their reporters from serving as principal witnesses for the prosecution in the forthcoming prosecutions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the ICC, is pursuing arrest warrants for both war criminals.
Ultimately, any such testimony from journalists would extend beyond Israel. They would involve Western capitals as well, placing established media organizations in conflict with their own governments, committing, and supporting the crimes.
Journalist whistleblowers have increasingly emerged to elucidate how mainstream news organizations, like the BBC, CNN, and the supposedly liberal Guardian, are excluding Palestinian perspectives and downplaying the genocide.
Journalists indicate experiencing "suffocating control" from senior editors and state that this pressure exists "only if you’re publishing something critical of Israel." Staff indicate that the term "genocide" is almost prohibited.
Israel is shaping the narrative surrounding its acts of genocide. Initially by killing the Palestinian journalists covering the events on-site, and subsequently by ensuring that compliant foreign correspondents remain safely distanced in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Israel has consistently depended on the complicity of its Western allies to suppress domestic criticism.
The West is conducting a psychological warfare campaign against its citizens, employing gaslighting, categorizing genocide as "self-defense," and categorizing resistance to it as an act of "terrorism."
The world has truly been flipped upside down, and the West’s so-called "free press" is working hard to convince us that this topsy-turvy reality is perfectly ordinary.
This illusion can only be maintained by refusing to call the Gaza genocide what it is—a genocide. Rather than reporting the truth, Western journalists have largely reduced themselves to mere transcribers, dutifully jotting down whatever Israel dictates.