Compare and contrast - moral equivalence

The BBC and others have been trying to create a moral equivalence between the terrorist kidnappers taking of Gilad Shalit and the Israeli government's legal imprisonment of Palestinian terrorists and associates. Of course there is no moral equivalence between Islamist terrorists tunnelling into Israeli territory and so kidnapping a 19 year-old Israeli Army conscript, incarcerating him for years in isolation without access to humanitarian aid of any kind or indeed access to fresh air, sending mocking videos & taunts to his family and the hundreds of Palestinian criminals who were tried and convicted for heinous crimes against Israeli civilians and military in courts of law (where they were provided with defence counsel) & who were housed, fed and educated in  comfortable & humane Israeli prisons. On release Gilad Shalit's family were gracious and non-confrontational to his former illegal captors whilst the released Palestinian prisoners came out complaining about their treatment to be lauded by the Palestinian masses as heroes for the acts that got them imprisoned in the first place. 

Hands up if you didn't see that coming

JTA reports this:

'JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A member of Saudi Arabia's royal family has offered a $900,000 reward for the capture of an Israeli soldier.

The offer, made Saturday by Prince Khaled bin Talal on a national television channel, comes days after prominent Saudi cleric Sheik Awadh al-Qarani floated a $100,000 offer for capturing an Israeli soldier.

The prince said the captured Israeli soldier would be traded for Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails, according to news service reports.

The offer comes after Israel agreed to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the freedom of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. '

How unsurprising; also not surprising is that the BBC have not reported this news, I presume they don't want to upset the Islamists that they have tied themselves to or give the British public any inkling about what is really happening in the Middle East.

Hamas can 'do the maths'

Exchanging Gilad Shalit for over a 1,000 convicted Palestinian terrorists and criminals ill have negative repercussions as even Hamas terrorists can multiply 1 by 6.

One Israeli soldier's freedom means a lot of scum are to be freed

The young Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is to be freed but inb return over a thousand Palestinan prisoners are to be released from Israeli jails. Idiot commentatoirs on this blog have called them children, here's a list of some of the more prominent scum from Reuters.

'YEHYA AL-SINWAR: born in 1962 in Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He founded a security service called "Majd" in the 1980s shortly after Hamas was established. It cracked down on Palestinians suspected of collaboration with Israel, many of whom were killed. He is regarded as perhaps the most senior figure to be released. His brother is the Hamas armed commander Mohammed Al-Sinwar, whom some Israelis say helped plan the cross-border raid in 2006 in which Shalit was captured.

AHLAM TAMIMI: born in 1980, she worked as a reporter with a local television station before joining the Hamas armed wing. She helped choose places for suicide attacks and was accused of taking some of the suicide bombers to these locations, including a Jerusalem pizzeria in 2001, where 15 people were killed. She received 16 life sentences. A Palestinian source said Tamimi would be exiled to Jordan.

QAHERA ASSADI: born in 1976 in the West Bank City of Jenin. She was arrested in 2002 and charged by Israel with recruiting militants, smuggling weapons and escorting suicide bombers to attack targets on behalf of the Islamic Jihad movement. Assadi was sentenced to three life terms in jail, and given an additional 30-year term.

AMANA MONA: a Palestinian activist from Bir Nabala. In Jan. 2001, Mona, then aged 24, used an Internet chatroom and promises of sex to lure a 16-year-old Israeli to his death. She pretended to be an American tourist and persuaded him to go with her to the West Bank where he was shot dead. She was given a life sentence. MOHAMMED AL-SHARATHA: born in 1957 in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip. He was a leader of the Hamas special elite fighting unit "101" which kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, Ilan Saa'don and Avi Sasbortas, in 1989. The two soldiers were killed. Sharatha was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to three life terms and a separate 30-year-term.

KARIM and MAHER YOUNIS: the two brothers were found guilty in 1983 of the murder of Israeli soldier Avi Bromberg, who disappeared in 1980 after leaving his military base in the Golan Heights. They were sentenced to death but this was later commuted to life in prison.
SAMI YOUNIS: at 78, he is widely reported to be the oldest Palestinian prisoner held by Israel. He was also convicted of planning and carrying out the Bromberg kidnapping.

NAEL AL-BARGHOUTHI: known as the dean of the Palestinian prisoners who has spent 33 years behind bars. He was arrested in 1978 and accused of being part of a Fatah hit squad which killed an Israeli. "After 30 years of captivity, we are just soldiers returning to their bases," he told a Palestinian newspaper on hearing of his imminent release.'

So Israel free hundreds of muderers and accoridng to The Jerusalem Post there is even more inequity in the deal:

'Hamas did not agree to an Israeli request to abandon a policy of future IDF kidnappings as part of the prisoner-swap agreement with Israel, a Palestinian source told the London-based Al Hayat on Friday.

According to the source, Israel – which will release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for kidnapped tank gunner Gilad Schalit – agreed not to target any of the prisoners once they have been freed.

...

A Hamas official in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, told Al Hayat that Israel was obligated to refrain from targeting any of the Palestinian prisoners as a part of the agreement'

Gilad Shalit to be freed

I hear rumours that Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal and finally Segeant Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held hostage by Palestinian terrorists linked to Hamas for five years is to be released. The price for the release of this Israeli soldier? That would be the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. How many of those being released have killed or assisted in the murder of Jews in Israel? How many will kill or assist in killing in the future?

I am happy at the release of Gilad Shalit but the price...

What does the BBC find newsworthy?

The BBC manage to find the space to tell us that:

'Hundreds take part in Worthing's Big Bike Sunday

Hundreds of people have taken part in a cycling event in a Sussex coastal town which saw cars give way to pedal power.

A section of Worthing seafront between Wallace Avenue and Grand Avenue was closed to traffic as part of Big Bike Sunday.'

Gosh, that's a hard-hitting news story.

Not too surprisingly the BBC do not find any space to tell us about the rally in Trafalgar Square today where:

'Israel’s supporters came out in Trafalgar Square today to show sympathy with Israel as rockets continue to rain down from Gaza and to wish a happy 25th birthday to Gilad Schalit who is in his sixth year in isolation in Gaza having been kidnapped by Hamas from Israeli soil when he was 19.

There were some tremendous speeches.

Hasan Afzal, of British Muslims for Israel, said he supports Israel because it is “the only country in the Middle East where Muslims have freedom and democracy”.'

If Richard Millett can record the event why not the BBC?

Some days ago I predicted that the BBC would not mention the 25th birthday of Gilad Shalit. I was wrong the BBC did manage this piece on Friday. Nothing today and that BBC piece is a masterpiece of manipulation; here are some lovely extracts:

'It is thought that there are more than 5,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including some 200 who are under 18 years old.

...

Indirect talks - being mediated by Egypt and Germany - have centred on a prisoner exchange that would see hundreds of Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.

Mr Netanyahu has rejected the demand unless some of the worst offenders - including 450 with Israeli "blood on their hands" - are exiled. Hamas has rejected this condition.

Some of the 5,000 Palestinian prisoners have been tried and convicted of serious crimes such as murder in the Israeli courts, but others are being held without charge.'

But not a word on the date of Gilad Shalit's birthday and nothing about the rally in Trafalgar Square. Space issues or just the usual BBC hatred of Israel?

Al Jazeera's odd choice of word

Al Jazeera Tweet:

'Israeli soldier spends fifth year detained http://aje.me/lYJKGQ'

Yes that's right, according to Al Jazeera Gilad Shalit has been detained! Funny, I thought he had been captured by Hamas terrorists and held for five years without any contact with the outside world, without any communication with the Red Cross in contravention of the norms of international law and civilized behaviour.

For more about Gilad Shalit please read these articles as youwon't learn much from Al Jazeera or the BBC.

The difference between 'abducted' and 'captured'

The BBC report that:

''Abducted' Palestinian engineer appears in Israel court

A Palestinian engineer has appeared in an Israeli court after being captured in Ukraine and jailed in Israel.'

The BBC seem most affronted that Israel have 'abducted' Dirar Abu Sisi, they are less exercised by the abduction of Gilad Shalit almost five years ago, this is all they say in this report:

'Sgt Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas-linked militants in June 2006'

Sgt Gilad Shalit has been a prisoner of Hamas, or a Hamas linked group, for almost five years and the BBC has barely wasted a moment to cover the story, something tells me that Dirar Abu Sisi will be accorded more coverage.

Do you remember Gilad Shalit?

Gilad Shalit, the 24-year-old Israeli, who has been languishing as a hostage in Hamas terrorist captivity for over four years in Gaza. Contrary to international law, Gilad has been denied all visits, including from organisations such as the Red Cross.

Please do try and attend the solidarity vigil for Gilad Shalit on Thursday 24th February between 18:00-19:30 outside the Red Cross offices in Moorgate (44 Moorfields, London EC2Y 9AL).

Gilad Shalit has now been held hostage for over 1,700 days, that's over four and a half years. So when was the last time the BBC reported on the fate of this young Israeli soldier? It's almost as though the BBC don't care...

What film is this a trailer for?

It's not for a film, it's Hamas's latest video uploaded at YouTube showing kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

I have yet to see this video or read about it on the BBC. The BBC presumably too busy identifying with the "We are all Hamas now" brigade and assisting in villifying israel at every opportunity.

The BBC reporting Israel, Hamas and Fatah - a quick comparison

The BBC have some guides to the Middle East Peace Talks up on the ir news site so I had a quick peruse. Here's a few extracts that show the anti-Israel bias endemic at the BBC:
From a page on Gilad Shalit:

'Israel is a highly-militarised society that views itself as surrounded by hostile nations, where most parents send their sons and daughters as conscripts and continue to serve as reservists in later life.'

I have yet to see the BBC describe Hamas run Gaza as a militarised society although it seems that way to me.

'the International Committee of the Red Cross, which visits prisoners of war worldwide, has consistently been refused access to ascertain Sgt Shalit's condition or to deliver letters.'

A fact that if Israel were guilty of would be shouted regularly by the BBC is hidden away on this lang page.

From the page on Fatah comes this

'In late October 2004, Arafat was taken ill and flown to France for emergency treatment. He died of a mysterious blood disorder on 11 November.'

It seems that the BBC are willing to believe the Fatah line that Yasser Arafat was poisoned by Israel, or at least are willing to spread it.


From the page devoted to Hamas:

'The group's short-term aim has been to drive Israeli forces from the occupied territories. To achieve this it has launched attacks on Israeli troops and settlers in the Palestinian territories and against civilians in Israel.'

True, but what about Hamas's long term aims as expressed in their Charter?

'It also has a long-term aim of establishing an Islamic state on all of historic Palestine - most of which has been contained within Israel's borders since its creation in 1948.

The founding document of Hamas commits the organisation to the destruction of Israel. '

So just the founding document? How about the regular calls for the killing of all Israelis and indeed all Jews by Hamas clerics and leaders? Are they not worth mentioning?

'Hamas resisted all efforts to get it to sign up to previous agreements with Israel, as well as to recognise Israel's legitimacy and to give up the armed struggle.

It has remained steadfast to its pledge never to sign up to a permanent ceasefire while Israel occupies Palestinian territory and its troops are responsible for the deaths of Palestinians.

It did, however, offer a 10-year truce in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967: the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

But it has not relinquished its assertion that Palestinian refugees from 1948 should be allowed to return to homes in what has become Israel - a move that threatens Israel's very existence as a Jewish state. '

All true but rarely explained by the BBC when usually referring to Hamas's aims? However again no mention of Hamas's desire to kill all Jews.

'The paraplegic and visually impaired Sheikh Yassin was killed in a missile attack on 22 March 2004. '

Poor Sheikh Yassin, no mention of his past so are we to assume that Israel killed a random 'paraplegic and visually impaired' person? Here's some background on Sheikh Yassin that the BBC seem fit not to relay:

'In 1984 he and others were jailed for secretly stockpiling weapons, but in 1985 he was released as part of the Jibril Agreement... Yassin opposed the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis. He supported armed resistance against Israel, and was very outspoken in his views. He asserted that Palestine is an Islamic land "consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day" and that no Arab leader had the right to give up any part of this territory. Yassin's rhetoric did not distinguish between Israelis and Jews, at one point stating that "Reconciliation with the Jews is a crime... he opined that Israel "must disappear from the map".
In 1989, Yassin was arrested by the Israelis and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1997 Yassin was released by Israel in exchange for two Mossad agents who had been arrested by Jordanian authorities, on the condition that he refrain from continuing to call for suicide bombings against Israel. Following his release, Yassin resumed his leadership of Hamas. He immediately resumed his calls for attacks on Israel, using tactics including suicide bombings, thus violating the condition of his release. Yassin criticized the outcome of the 2003 Aqaba summit. His group initially declared a temporary truce with Israel. However, in July 2003, the truce unravelled after a Palestinian suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus left 21 people dead. Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens.'

We also get this value-judgement

'Aside from its much-vaunted incorruptibility, Hamas campaigned forcefully on its claim that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in the summer of 2005 was a victory for its commitment to armed conflict with the Israelis.'

'much-vaunted incorruptibility' - says who and why is this even in this article. Would the BBC ever refer to Israel with such a positive line?

'Hamas security control made Gaza a more calm and orderly place than it had been for months.'

How about the Fatah men thrown form the tops of buildings, did they appreciate the calm and order? What about the wedding party shot at for daring to play music; did they feel the benefit of Hamas order?


And of course whilst the BBC genuflect towards the terrorists of Hamas, they still have a link on the main Middle East news page to Rabbi calls for Abbas to 'vanish' a story that I covered here and here and have yet to receive an answer about from the BBC.

A birthday that needs commemorating; not that the BBC have...

Imagine if:
Can you imagine what would have been on the BBC news website today if a team of Israeli commandos had infiltrated Gaza four years ago, killed two terrorists, and taken a third terrorist prisoner? Can you imagine what would have been on the BBC website today if Israel had then held that prisoner in total isolation for four years and refused all access by any third parties including the International Red Cross. Do you think that this story would be on the front page of the BBC's news coverage as well as the lead story on the Middle East news page?

Unfortunately, the story is slightly different for today is Gilad Shalit’s 24th birthday. He was kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists in a cross border raid from the Gaza Strip in June 2006. He has been held hostage by Hamas ever since with almost no contact with the outside world. He is also denied visits from the International Red Cross, which would ensure his good health. I can see no mention of Gilad Shalit's birthday on the BBC news site let alone on the news front page.

BBC - You disgust me!



Thanks to Henry Wood at Biased-BBC for the concept.

Tomorrow (Friday) marks the fourth anniversary of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit's kidnapping and incarceration by Hamas in Gaza. Israel has, during this period, allowed tonnes of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and has now relaxed restrictions on the transfer of goods. Shalit has not even been allowed a visit by the Red Cross.

When was the last time you heard the BBC or other non-Israeli media mention Gilad Shalit? Put pressure on the world's media - 'What about Gilad Shalit' - or are Israeli lives not worth a mention on the BBC?

All Hamas are saying is "give us a soldier"

Berman Post report that:

"A charity run by the interior minister of Hamas has offered $1.4 Million for a captured Israeli soldier. Given how much they keep talking about wanting peace, I assume that they only want to talk to the soldier and then will let him go. You know, the way they are talking to Gilad Shalit."

Well that's where Israel's trading prisoners for a video of one captured soldier, Gilad Shalit, has got them. Now Hamas know that to get even more money and prisoners they need to capture more Israeli soldiers.

I expect the West's human rights organisations will be complaining about this tactic any moment...

Gilad Shalit is alive

But still held hostage, not that the Western media seem especially upset by this fact.