Israel trapper opp propagandakrigen.
Trond Andresen
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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=284812
>Israel's war of words gets dirty
>
>By Phil Reeves in Jerusalem
>
>14 April 2002
>
>Joel is a reserve captain in the Israeli army. He has a warm handshake and a
>line in rapid-fire patter that betrays his New York upbringing.
>
>He introduces himself as a "military source", but it swiftly emerges that he
>is a headline machine, churning out slurs.
>
>Joel is in the front line of a multi-million dollar propaganda drive by the
>Israeli government to try to prevent an international backlash over its
>military invasion into Palestinian-run parts of the occupied West Bank.
>
>They face their toughest challenge yet: limiting the damage to Israel over
>the atrocities committed in the Jenin refugee camp, where its army has
>killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians.
>
>In a newly opened Israeli government media centre in Jerusalem, Joel was
>looking for journalists to make his pitch.
>
>We cut straight to the question of Jenin. "Believe me, we would love to let
>you guys into Jenin, but unlike the Palestinian terrorists, we respect the
>dignity of the dead," he said. "They want to gather up the bodies and show
>them off to the international media as evidence of a massacre that is
>typical of the sort of PR tricks they play."
>
>The press was also not being allowed into Jenin because of the "abundance of
>terrorists" looking for "Western targets". The Israeli army has frequently
>shot at journalists, injuring more than 40 and killing one. Suddenly, it was
>concerned for our safety.
>
>A journalist himself, Joel seems to know all about "PR tricks". Asked why
>the Israeli army is refusing to allow ambulances from the International
>Committee of the Red Cross to enter the camp and evacuate the wounded, he
>urged The Independent on Sunday to investigate. "You are on to a good story
>there. Go to the Red Cross and find out if they are using drivers from
>Sweden, or Palestinians."
>
>The propaganda war between the Israelis and Palestinians has always been a
>dirty business, but now it has sunk to new depths. Israel's media centre
>issued a statement boasting of "countless examples" of humanitarian aid to
>the Palestinians. This will be staggering news to the Red Cross and Red
>Crescent, who have been barred from entry, shot at and repeatedly
>humiliated, all in violation of the Geneva Convention.
>
>As ever, Israel has more money, resources and skills to apply to its spin
>than the Palestinians. It has recruited the ex-prime minister Benjamin
>Netanyahu to appear on foreign television to explain why Israel believes
>blasting Palestinian towns is an effective tool against terrorism.
>
>The Palestinians are outclassed. They tend to rant and exaggerate, and lack
>the fluency in English and the polished appearance of Israel's team of
>spokesmen. Mr Arafat is no exception. The world is still waiting for him to
>supply convincing proof of his claim that Israeli is using depleted uranium
>against his people.
>
>Palestinians seem to have given up worrying about what the outside world
>thinks. What matters now is the war. Just as the world's media focused on
>the Jenin atrocities, a suicide bomber wiped the story off the airwaves on
>Friday by murdering six Israelis in Jerusalem. Israel's propagandists hardly
>seemed necessary. The Palestinians were doing the job for them.
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