Haaretz‘s Amira Hass last week claimed that Israel “sweep[s] away” the Palestinian population (“Israel’s Right to Sweep Away Palestinians,” June 8).
With evocative phrases, Hass introduced various examples of Israel allegedly “sweeping away” Palestinians. Under the heading “The right to dismantle a kindergarten,” for example, Hass recounted the alleged fate of the Hamadin Bedouin community of Sateh al-Bahr. According to Hass, on June 5, Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank dismantled “six prefab houses and one prefab [caravan] that served as a kindergarten for 12 children.” As a result, she wrote, “Twenty-six people, including 13 children, lost their homes.”
What facts did Hass omit in this apparently dramatic and heart-wrenching story? In fact, the real story is neither dramatic nor heart-wrenching. In response to an inquiry by Presspectiva, CAMERA’s Hebrew department, Israel’s Civil Administration noted that the illegal buildings were built only four days before they were dismantled. On the morning of June 2, Regavim, an Israeli NGO, informed the authorities of the illegal construction. Three days later, Israeli authorities dismantled the structures.








