Abuse of Palestinian Children

 

Tax money has gone to educate children how to become
 murderers and martyrs. How nice. Also think it's
 child abuse of course. Their lives could have been 
great, instead they got Hamas.

Why Most Arab Countries Do Not Want Palestinians

     (With thanks to Khalid Abu Tomeh)

Countries such as Jordan and Lebanon had extremely negative experiences with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other Palestinian armed groups who were trying to overthrow or destabilize their governments (Black September in Jordan in 1970 and the Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990). Arab leaders often make strong statements, issue condemnations of Israeli actions, and attend high-profile summits that express solidarity with the Palestinians. Their gestures, however -- apart from Iran and Qatar -- are often not matched by decisive steps... The refusal of the Arab countries to absorb Palestinians (including the ex-prisoners) is... proof why it would be a mistake to rely on the Arab countries to help rebuild and demilitarize the Gaza Strip. US President Donald J. Trump, who seems to be pinning his hopes on the Arabs to assist in funding and establishing a new government as well as deploying an international force in the Gaza Strip, needs to bear in mind that most of the Arab heads of state and regimes actually do not care about the Palestinians. By now, most Arab heads of state see Palestinians as having caused immeasurable harm wherever they went and as having rewarded with treachery whoever stretched out a hand to them. For the Arab leaders, the Palestinian issue is just another tool to advance their own political objectives, shore up their own popular support at home, or unite various factions against a common enemy.

Most Arab leaders, in short, will continue to pretend that they are eager to help the US administration with its efforts to implement Trump's 20-point plan for peace in the Gaza Strip. In reality, the Arabs will continue to do their utmost to stay away from the Palestinians -- apart from helping them to regroup in the Gaza Strip

Should Israel Give in and Pay Up Again

Reporter עמית סגל Amit Segal, just before Shabbat, about Israel’s fundamental change of attitude towards its enemies since October 7th - no more accomodation; it's up to the world to appease US. (This translated from the Hebrew.)

"There’s been a sudden reversal: instead of Israel begging for information, offering concessions, and shouting “everyone now!” regarding the hostages in Gaza, Hamas is the one demanding proof of life and the immediate release of its members, who are of course vile murderers, not innocent civilians. (this referring to the terrorists trapped in a tunnel and whom Israel insisted must be disarmed before being sent back to the hands of Hamas) The real number is apparently below 200—much lower—and life in tunnels under the boots of the IDF is not exactly a recipe for longevity.

The Rafah story is a critical test—a turning point in Israel’s relationship with its enemies. For decades, Israel normalized a protection racket culture—paying the bully so that he won’t bully. Hamas and Hezbollah invented countless forms of extortion—border marches, balloons, Qassam rockets, tunnels, tents—and Israel was willing to pay dearly, just for quiet.

That equation flipped on October 7. From that moment, and for the past two years, Israel was the one saying, “hold me back.” We remember the campaigns: “just not a ground maneuver,” then “just don’t enter Lebanon,” “just don’t strike the Dahieh,” and “just don’t enter Rafah.” Every time Israel initiated an attack, the world had to pay to make it stop.

So it was too with the strike in Qatar. The mediators, Hamas, and the entire axis were sure Israel had lost control. They were ready to pressure Hamas in ways they hadn’t for two years—just to calm down “the Zionists.” That’s how the deal bringing 20 hostages home was cooked up.

Now, following the ceasefire, the whole world is trying to push Israel back into a defensive stance. The same country that once adopted a doctrine of keeping wars within its borders fought on seven fronts simultaneously. The world doesn’t like that. Jews, after all, are expected to defend, not attack.

And so we arrive at the 200 terrorists in Rafah. The mediators demand Israel releases them in exchange for quiet, for some grand peace plan. And this is the test: will Israel revert to what it was two years ago, or has the lesson been learned? Will the world pay Israel to calm down, or will it be the other way around?"

How Anti-Israel Falsehoods Go Viral – and Stay There

 For full article go to https://honestreporting.com/3-lies-in-1-week-how-anti-israel-falsehoods-go-viral-and-stay-there/

CNN, ABC News, and the BBC.

Three of the largest and most influential news organizations in the world – with a combined reach in the hundreds of millions across television, radio, and digital platforms – and a responsibility to match. When outlets of that size make mistakes, it doesn’t just distort a single news cycle; it brainwashes public understanding of an entire conflict.

Within the span of a single week, all three organizations published or aired egregious, deeply consequential errors. Honest Reporting has exposed throughout the war: misinformation travels at full speed, while corrections limp in far too late – if they actually arrive at all.

This is not an isolated problem. It is a cumulative one. After two years of audiences being bombarded with misleading reports, mistranslations, euphemisms, and fabrications, these mid-October errors offer indicate damage done – and why media accountability remains essential. 

The Three Mistakes – and What They Reveal

1. CNN: Amanpour Makes Light of Hostage Torture

On October 13, CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour claimed Israeli hostages had “probably been treated better than the average Gazan,” describing them as “pawns” Hamas had an incentive to care for. Honest Reporting exposed the comment, prompting widespread outrage.

Amanpour later issued an on-air apology, admitting her remarks were “insensitive and wrong” after learning the hostages had reported being starved, electrocuted, held in chains and cages underground, forbidden from crying, and forced to dig their own graves.

This was not a slip of the tongue. It was a worldview – one that reflexively downplays Israeli suffering even in moments where facts should be indisputable.

2. ABC News: Terrorist Given a Hero’s Edit

That same week, ABC News aired footage presenting a Hamas operative as a heroic rescuer during the ceasefire, without identifying him as a member of a U.S.-designated terror  group.

Honest Reporting revealed the man’s affiliations and role in Hamas terrorism. ABC has not used him in any subsequent reporting since.

Sources tell us this story was filed outside ABC News’ normal editorial process and was produced solely by a Gaza-based cameraman – with no ABC reporter involved.

This was more than a lapse in judgment. It was a breakdown in due diligence: allowing material sourced entirely inside Hamas-controlled territory to transform a terrorist into a supposed rescuer – and broadcasting it to millions. This is a fundamental failure to verify by ABC News.

3. BBC News: Calling Prisoner Releases a “Hostage Exchange”

Also on October 13, the BBC described the release of Israeli hostages – kidnapped civilians held underground for two years – as part of a “hostage exchange” with Palestinian prisoners.

This false equivalence has become a persistent media trope, flattening the distinction between abducting civilians and incarcerating individuals accused and convicted of violent crimes.

The BBC did not issue a clarification. Instead, the journalist who wrote it later insisted the phrasing was not meant to equate Israeli hostages with Palestinian prisoners.

The Truth These Three Incidents Reveal

These three errors did not happen in a vacuum.

They are part of the same ecosystem of misreporting that has shaped public perception since October 7, 2023. In the fog of war – and the political pressure that follows – legacy news organizations have repeatedly rushed out unverified claims, adopted activist language, platformed extremists, and framed Israeli self-defense as aggression.

Corrections, if they appear at all, are muted, delayed, and reach only a fraction of the audience. 

The result?

Two years of global opinion shaped not by facts, but by a steady stream of skewed, inaccurate, and sometimes, outright false reporting. The mid-October ceasefire week is not an outlier but a case study, a compressed timeline showing just how quickly anti-Israel misinformation can spread, embed, and harden into “truth.”

And if three such egregious mistakes can appear in a single week – from three of the world’s most influential newsrooms – it gives a sense of what Honest Reporting has been up against for the past two years. This is the scale of the problem: tens of millions of people encountering distortions in real time, while corrections – if they appear at all – arrive quietly, too late to matter.

Because if that week in October proved anything, it’s that misinformation about Israel isn’t by chance. It’s systemic. It’s influential.

And unless challenged, it becomes the story.

The North Is at Risk of Flaring Up

 (With thanks to Amit Segal)

 It’s Monday, November 17, and what does Benjamin Netanyahu cancelling his Wednesday testimony in his criminal trial for a “security reason” have to do with the north flaring up? Let’s break it down.

 With reports flowing about money and weaponry being smuggled into Lebanon, and the rate of IDF strikes intercepting these deliveries increasing, Israeli security officials are concerned that the northern border is moving worryingly close to another outbreak of violence.

 Don’t forget: two weeks ago, I wrote that foreign intelligence officials believe Hezbollah has partially reestablished its smuggling route—and is doing so at a pace the Lebanese military cannot compete with.

 But after receiving such a beating at the hands of Israel, and after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria cut off a vital supply route, many of you were probably wondering how Hezbollah is already rearming itself. Well, thanks to Ynet’s Ron Crissy, we now have a partial answer.

 “After air and land routes were shut and senior Quds Force operatives were killed,” Crissy wrote, “Iran and Hezbollah rebuilt a smuggling system relying on third countries, maritime routes and money-exchange networks, transferring arms and hundreds of millions of dollars.”

 Indeed, since the beginning of 2025, Iran has sent around one billion dollars to Hezbollah, according to the U.S. Treasury, primarily “through money-exchange agencies and cash-based businesses, using legitimate financial mechanisms to disguise its origin and destination,” Crissy explained.

 But what about Syria? “They shifted smuggling networks to Turkey and Iraq [and] made greater use of maritime routes,” according to Crissy, who noted that Iran and Hezbollah have even changed the actual materials they are smuggling: instead of bringing weapons into Lebanon, the Iranian proxy is smuggling components in pieces and reassembling them inside Lebanon.

 Why? According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Crissy wrote, “the shift from ‘weapons transport’ to ‘independent production capability’ inside Lebanon allows Hezbollah to rely less on vulnerable supply lines and more on local manufacturing based on Iranian know-how, parts and technology.”

 Ok, so let’s put this all together. Hezbollah is rearming; the Lebanese military is failing—or refusing—to disarm it; Washington is threatening “to leave Beirut to its fate” if it continuously fails to dismantle Hezbollah; Israel is increasing its strikes on Hezbollah smuggling missions; the IDF is on heightened alert in the north; and now, Israel’s prime minister has cancelled his upcoming testimony for a “security reason.”

 Putting aside the absurdity that, in order to get out of court, Netanyahu has to publicly announce to Israel’s enemies that there are critical security developments in the offing, one can’t help but wonder: what does Jerusalem have in store for Lebanon?

THE ILLUSION OF PALESTINIAN PEACE

 (written by Fiamma Nirenstein)

The orgy of blood on Oct. 7, 2023, and everything that followed should have inspired a dream of peace. For anyone with a conscience, the horror would be enough to say: “Never again.”

Yet that isn’t what happened. When you ask Israelis how they are, their automatic “Fine, thank you” is no longer true; it’s merely a social convention. Their souls remain shaken.

But across the divide, in the Palestinian territories, the picture is far more disturbing. According to a recent survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 59% of Palestinians living under the Palestinian Authority—that is, in Judea and Samaria—believe that the decision to carry out the Oct. 7 massacre was “correct.” In Gaza, 44% agreed.

Even more shocking, 54% blame Israel for Palestinian suffering, while only 14% blame Hamas. And so, we must ask: what peace are we talking about? The one preached endlessly by the U.N., by Europe, and by French President Emmanuel Macron — “two states for two peoples”? Not only does it lack realism; a majority of Palestinians reject it outright.

The same survey shows that 40% of Palestinians believe an independent state must come through armed struggle, not negotiation; in Gaza, 35% say the same. These are not marginal numbers—they represent a society still enthralled by the myth of “resistance,” not the idea of coexistence.

As Israeli journalist Amit Segal has noted, Shany Mor’s essay “Ecstasy and Amnesia” explains this phenomenon well: the intoxication of violence, the inability of parts of the Islamic world—and the Palestinian one in particular—to separate history from religious emotion.

The “ecstasy” of jihad was visible on Oct. 7, in videos of young men calling their parents to boast about killing Jews with their own hands, and in the mobs cheering as kidnapped Israeli girls were paraded through Gaza’s streets.

Even academics in the West, such as Cornell’s Russell Rickford, revealed the same moral sickness when he called the massacre “exhilarating.”

Arab–Palestinian wars have always followed this script: an initial eruption of homicidal and suicidal ecstasy, followed by crushing defeat—the War of Independence (1948), the Six Day War (1967), the Intifadas, and now the war of Oct. 7. Yet from each failure, what remains in memory is the thrill of violence, not the price of it.

 

The BBC has failed, UK government should demand full enquiry

 A leaked BBC dossier acknowledges serious editorial failures in BBC Arabic coverage, confirming and overlapping with years of research by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis (CAMERA).

The 19-page internal memo by Michael Prescott, a former adviser to the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee, accuses BBC Arabic of systemic anti-Israel bias, platforming extremist voices, and amplifying Hamas propaganda. The memo was reported by The Telegraph yesterday.

Prescott’s findings mirror and expand upon documentation first publicly exposed by CAMERA UK and CAMERA Arabic researchers throughout the two years that followed October 7, 2023. See full report at https://www.camera.org/article/press-release-cameras-complaints-of-bbc-bias-vindicated-by-bombshell-dossier/

These new revelations follow calls by Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch MP for wholesale reform of BBC Arabic after the publication of CAMERA’s widely-read March 2025 report examining the network’s promotion of extremist voices, whitewashing of violence against Israelis, and failure to enforce editorial standards over the past 5 years.

We are satisfied that people close to the BBC seem to be paying attention to our criticism and hope this will lead to real change in the corporation’s coverage of Israel and the Middle East after decades of failures, but it would be unwise to get our hopes up just yet.”

The mounting body of evidence against BBC Arabic is something we have been warning the BBC about for years, but management repeatedly chose to ignore it. They have failed to act against journalists who publicly celebrated the October 7 attacks and even assigned some of these individuals to cover Israel and Gaza.

CAMERA calls on the BBC Board to launch a full and transparent inquiry and to ensure that the BBC’s international services finally meet the impartiality standards required of a publicly funded broadcaster. We also call on the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which co-funds BBC Arabic, to do likewise.