Famously, the slogan “All the News That’s Fit to Print” graces the front page of every New York Times edition. The slogan was coined at the end of the 19th century by the paper’s publisher, Adolph Ochs. Of course, in today’s hyper-globalized world, the slogan is wishful thinking. No paper could realistically cover all the important news stories of the day.
Still, it would be hard to argue that outlets like the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and others adequately cover even those stories they do print. They often devote precious space to emotive or opinionated claims, while omitting highly material and relevant information that sheds important new light.
Provided below are three important, but underreported, stories from the week bearing on Israel and the Middle East that media consumers should know.
1) Palestinian Terrorists Fire on UNICEF, Unintentionally Exposing a UN Lie
On September 18, a convoy of UNICEF aid trucks bringing special food for children in Gaza was fired on and hijacked by “armed individuals,” according to the United Nations (UN) agency. This wasn’t all. The “armed individuals,” identified as Hamas terrorists by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), then used a stolen UN vehicle “to erect a sand barricade to prevent future aid deliveries.” The barricade blocked a new road being built to facilitate more aid entering the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
In doing so, Hamas’s actions also unintentionally exposed a lie made by another UN entity just two days before. On September 16, a UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) issued a report claiming Israel was committing “genocide.” To justify its conclusion, the COI pointed to “Israel’s refusal to allow basic essential supplies, such as special infant milk, into the Gaza Strip…” But as CAMERA pointed out last week, the UN knew this was a lie since the UN itself had been delivering hundreds (likely thousands) of tons of baby food to Gaza in recent months. The footnote for the COI’s false claim points to a single URL: a video posted on Facebook by Hamas, featuring a noticeably overweight Hamas-aligned doctor making the claim without providing evidence.
Among major media outlets, only Yahoo! News covered the incident, featuring an article that originally appeared at the Jerusalem Post. No Western journalists have publicly questioned the COI over its demonstrably false claim.
2) Greta Thunberg’s Homophobic Gaza Flotilla
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, is having another go at trying to break Israel’s lawfully imposed maritime blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The Swede’s open sea escapades have hit a snag, however, as her fellow activists revolt over the inclusion of a “queer activist.”
Greta Thunberg smiling at a sandwich provided to her by an IDF soldier after her first flotilla was intercepted. Courtesy: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Thunberg’s flotilla, which set out on August 31 under the tutelage of organizers such as Hamas’s Zaher Birawi, follows a failed attempt in June. In this previous attempt, the “tiny amount” of humanitarian aid her ship held was transferred to Gaza through the proper channels by the IDF while the “kidnapped” Thunberg and her fellow activists famously chowed down on Israeli-provided sandwiches. She was shortly thereafter deported from Israel after refusing to watch footage of Hamas’s October 7 atrocities.
The activist’s current attempt, dubbed the “Global Sumud Flotilla,” isn’t going any better. When “queer militant” Saif Ayadi joined the flotilla, several prominent members objected on the basis of Ayadi’s sexuality. One, Tunisian coordinator Khaled Boujemâa, went so far as to resign from the flotilla, while others made public statements criticizing the inclusion of the “suspicious outcast.”
Though it’s unclear if the homophobic snafu is the cause, it appears Thunberg has been removed from the flotilla’s steering committee. For his part, Ayadi blamed the Jews (the “Zionist lobby”) for the homophobia he experienced at the hands of anti-Israel activists. Notably, the Hamas-controlled Gaza, where the “queer” Ayadi is attempting to sail, criminalizes homosexuality.
Other than the Daily Mail, the Free Beacon, and Sky News Australia, major Western outlets have remained quiet on the extremist and bigoted elements of Thunberg’s flotilla.
3) Hamas Thanks France & UK for Their “Defeat” of Hamas
France and the United Kingdom have decided to recognize the “State of Palestine.” The moves have generated widespread controversy given the timing. For many, it appears as if the UK and France are rewarding the Palestinians for their October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians. Certainly, there is no recent development which would suggest “Palestine” has met the legal criteria for statehood. While much can and will be written about these decisions, there are several particular remarks worth noting – those of French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Hamas.
In a speech at the UN this week, Macron claimed that his decision to recognize the “State of Palestine” is “a defeat for Hamas.” Similarly, Starmer claimed in his speech that his recognition “is not a reward for Hamas, because it means Hamas can have no future, no role in government, no role in security.”
Hamas, however, disagrees. Instead of lamenting the “defeat” Macron declared over them, the terrorist organization has instead been loudly celebrating the moves.
Almost immediately, the organization issued a statement describing the recognitions as “an important step.” The statement continued, nodding to its October 7 attack: “This is a gesture to the struggle, steadfastness and sacrifices of our people on the path to liberation and return.”
Hamas being emboldened by the move was evident even before their official announcement. In early August, Ghazi Hamad – one of Hamas’s top officials – boasted: “Without our weapons, no one would be looking in our direction.” He continued: “We [Hamas] are the ones who brought the issue back to the forefront, and that is why all the countries are starting to recognize a Palestinian state.”
In other words, Hamas views Macron and Starmer’s moves not as a “defeat,” but as vindication of its terroristic violence.
Other than opinion articles in places like the Wall Street Journal and The Times, only the BBC and the Free Press have mentioned Hamas’s celebrations in their coverage of the UK and France’s recognitions.
Historical Context for Current Events
The wave of recognitions of the “State of Palestine” has been justified in large part by promises of reform made by the Palestinian Authority. But as Tal Becker, a former legal advisor to Israel’s Foreign Ministry and current vice president at the Shalom Hartman Institute, explained at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy:
From Israel’s perspective, this seems backward, giving the concession on recognizing a Palestinian state today in exchange for something (elections) the PA leader promises to do in the future, a promise made and broken many times before.
The last time PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who is in year 20 of his four-year term, promised and then canceled elections was in 2021. While Abbas blamed Israel, the truth, according to even anti-Israel activist Ramzy Baroud (who is currently facing a lawsuit over his employment of a terrorist who held an Israeli civilian hostage in his home), is that “Abbas canceled the elections because all credible public opinion polls showed that [the] legislative vote would have decimated the ruling clique of his Fatah party…”
Indeed, the last elections held by the PA has direct relevance to the situation today. After Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Hamas won a convincing majority (76 of 132 seats) in the Palestinian Authority’s legislative elections in 2006. Fatah’s Abbas had been elected as president of the PA just the year before. Tensions quickly boiled over between Hamas and Fatah. In 2007, Hamas violently took over Gaza, ejecting the Abbas’s PA and Fatah, and turned Gaza into a terrorist-run territory.
Abbas and Fatah, who retain control of the internationally recognized PA, remain deeply unpopular. Surveys have consistently shown Hamas remains by far the most popular faction among Palestinians. According to one recent survey, 84% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign.
And so even if Abbas won’t break his promise this time, the reality is that nations like the UK and France have pinned their hopes on a deeply unpopular, corrupt party which was already given control of the Gaza Strip only to lose it to the genocidal terrorist organization that used the territory to start one of several wars on October 7, 2023.