The Al Jazeera media network, which is currently devoting 95% of its broadcasts to coverage of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, ignoring the slaughter taking place in Arab countries like Iraq and Syria, for example, is not ignoring yesterday's statement by Israel Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman. Liberman advocated shutting down the network's activity in Israel, saying that Al Jazeera was engaging in brainwashing, and named Qatar as the country behind Gaza terrorism. The network devoted a story on both its broadcast channel and its website to Liberman's comments, under the headline, "Liberman demanding that Al Jazeera be shut down in order to punish Qatar."
Al Jazeera's response is to accuse the media of incitement against it. "Since the beginning of the attacks in Gaza, the Israeli media have been inciting against Qatar and Al Jazeera, accusing them of aiding and financing the forces fighting in Gaza, headed by Hamas," the network's story stated.
Al Jazeera is an international Arab channel broadcasting from Doha, Qatar and controlled by Qatar's ruler, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Liberman's statements about Qatar's support for Hamas were buttressed by facts; Emir Khalifa has openly sent the Hamas government hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years, and has hosted Hamas leaders Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyeh in his country.
Since Operation Protective Edge began, Al Jazeera has been devoting the vast majority of its broadcasts to coverage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. As reported last week in "Globes," however, its coverage is far from objective. It uses inflammatory phrases, provides only partial information, and its reports are factually unreliable. Even now, after the IDF spokesman announced that a soldier is missing presumed dead, the network chooses to omit from its broadcasts the material fact that a body is involved, and has been reporting the capture of an Israel soldier for two days.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 22, 2014
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