The brutal assault was an ‘operation’ in their accounts, dripping with insincerity that George Orwell warned about.
Many Western journalists are prepared and willing to lie to defend Israel, no matter what it does.
They will never admit it, but they do – again and again.
They lied often while the militant leaders of an apartheid state ordered a brigade of troops to attack the 14,000 Palestinian children, women and men who live and are routinely killed in the Jenin refugee camp.
The preceding paragraph includes three words that most Western editors are loath to use in a headline to describe Israel’s ruinous modus operandi: “militant”, “apartheid” and “attack”.
So, they prefer, instead, to lie. I will get to “militant” and “apartheid” later. Let me begin with “attack”.
Earlier this week, as many as 2,000 Israeli soldiers used armoured vehicles, drones, rockets and helicopter gunships to terrorise and traumatise Palestinians in the occupied West Bank for two horrendous days.
Not so, according to headline writers at The New York Times and CNN. Israel didn’t “attack” Jenin; it “launched” an “operation”.
“Operation” is such a benign, almost harmless word, isn’t it?
It suggests several things. First, an “operation” implies that the people being “operated” on have consented to the “operation”. Second, the salutary intent of any “operation” is to repair what is broken. Finally, once an “operation” is complete, another “operation” is usually unnecessary.
None of that happened in Jenin. At least 12 Palestinians, including children, were killed. Scores more were hurt and damaged in mind and spirit. Homes were ransacked, businesses destroyed. Refugees had to find refuge somewhere else in the refugee camp. And Israel promised to resume its attacks whenever it wants to.