Several years ago, CAMERA documented some of the scripted falsehoods and distortions which Diana Buttu glibly and confidently put forth. (See Countering Propaganda: Focus on Diana Buttu.) She showed no discomfort as she repeated outright, easily disprovable lies, no doubt because her interviewers did not counter her.
Now she is being interviewed again, and she offers up new, ridiculous misinformation. For example, on CNN’s Newsroom, she declared:
The reason that these rockets have been launched — and I think it’s important to add that none of these rockets actually have an explosive head on them, unlike the Israeli weaponry — the reason that they have been launched is because of the fact that Israel has maintained a siege and a blockade against the Gaza Strip for the past three years, in addition to military operations in the Gaza Strip. (Dec. 29, 2008)
The blockade preceded the rocketing? No explosive heads on Hamas rockets?
On what planet is Buttu living? What has been exploding in Sderot, Ashkelon, Ofakim, Yavne, Nahal Oz? Firecrackers?
In fact, rocketing of Israel has never totally stopped. Within weeks of Israel’s full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, Hamas fired a large barrage of rockets from that territory into Israel, injuring 5 Israelis. Between October and December 2005, 145 rockets and mortars were fired into Israel. In 2006, an estimated 861 rockets and 57 mortar shells fired from Gaza struck Israel. Since Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, over 3,000 rockets and mortar bombs fired from the Gaza Strip have struck southwestern Israel – Sderot, Ashkelon, Netivot, and many rural communities in the area. These targeted homes, a shopping mall in Ashkelon, Sapir College in Sderot, children playing outside school and near their homes, field and factory workers, among others. Civilians were killed and injured (including an eight-year-old boy whose leg was amputated). The explosives also caused extensive damage to private homes, factories and infrastructures.
CNN host Rick Sanchez did not contradict Buttu, but when she was interviewed by Greg Jarrett on Fox News a day later, this is what happened:
Other journalists should follow Jarrett’s example, and not allow this propagandist get away with such obvious and absurd falsehoods. They should counter her lies.