Palestinian Prisoners

June 25, 2006

Prisoners’ Document: Peace Plan or “Phased Plan”?

Much of the media is misreporting the substance of the referendum proposed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the so-called Prisoners' Document presented in the referendum. Reports claiming the document is a "peace plan" or that it accepts a two-state solution recognizing Israel are selling an idea of Hamas moderation that has little, if any, basis. While such overenthusiastic extrapolation might be acceptable in an opinion or analysis piece, news stories should stick to reporting the facts.
October 6, 2005

CAMERA Action Prompts Improved AFP Report

An AFP story on the wire today reported without challenge Saeb Erakat's claim that the "road map" requires Israel to release Palestinian prisoners. In response to communication from CAMERA, subsequent AFP stories noted that "the roadmap makes no mention of Israel releasing Palestinian detainees."
March 29, 2004

UPDATED: Tom Friedman’s Grudging Correction

Friedman admits he was wrong, sort of, about Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners during the tenure of Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas. But he maintains that Sharon was responsible for Abbas's resignation, a claim which Abbas himself refuted this week.