Deutsche Welle Corrects: There Are No Jewish Settlers in Gaza

November 17, 2019

Evacuation of Israeli residents of Tel Katifa in the Gaza Strip, 2005 (IDF Photos, Wikimedia Commons)

CAMERA’s Israel office today prompted a correction at Deutsche Welle after an Op-Ed incorrectly reported that 600,000 Jewish settlers reside in the Gaza Strip. Remarking on both the European Court of Justice decision last week regarding the labeling of Israeli products produced across the 1949 armistice line, along with the Islamic Jihad rocket barrage on Israel, Rainer Hermann of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper wrote (“Opinion: Terrorists and Settlers,” Nov. 16):

Both events shine a light on two particular reasons the conflict remains unresolved. The first is the situation in Gaza — an area where more than 600,000 Jewish settlers have built residences in what is internationally recognized as territory belonging to the Palestinian National Authority.

There is not a single Israeli settler in the Gaza Strip. Israel withdrew all of its civilians and soldiers from that territory in 2005, as DW has itself reported in the past. Moreover, there were approximately 8,500 settlers prior to the evacuation – not 600,000. The only Israelis currently known to be in the Gaza Strip are two mentally challenged civilians held hostage by Hamas which denies them Red Cross in violation of international law.
In response to communication from CAMERA, DW editors quickly amended the article, commendably removing the false assertion that 600,000 settlers reside in the Gaza Strip. The corrected text now only states:
Both events shine a light on reasons the conflict remains unresolved, including the situation in Gaza.
Contrary to common journalistic practice, editors did not append a note alerting readers to the change.

 

 

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