Israel Ministry Video Lashes out at Foreign Journalists
Israel's foreign ministry has lashed out at foreign journalists' coverage of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, in a video that ridiculed their reporting, particularly during last year's bloody war.
The 49-second cartoon clip, entitled "Open your eyes about Gaza", was posted on YouTube on Sunday, and quickly drew condemnation from the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel.
The video features a blonde-haired television correspondent in Gaza with an American accent declaring to camera "there are no terrorists here, just ordinary people", while a masked militant fires off a rocket, presumably towards Israel.
Another scene has the reporter describing tunnels that Hamas fighters used to stage attacks into Israeli territory as "the first Palestinian subway."
A female character then gives the reporter a pair of glasses, allowing him to see the reality of "life under Hamas rule".
The reporter then faints.
"Terror rules Gaza," a caption reads.
The FPA said it was "surprised and alarmed" by the "misleading and poorly conceived" clip.
"It is disconcerting that the ministry would spend its time producing a... video that attempts to ridicule journalists reporting on a conflict" that killed 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 73 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.
It described the video as "inappropriate" and "unhelpful."
Some 17 journalists were killed covering the July-August Gaza war, the bloodiest yet in the tiny coastal territory, including an Italian photographer working for Associated Press.
Foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon defended the controversial video, which had both foreign and Israeli reporters up in arms on social media.
He said the video was "poking gentle fun at the phenomenon" of Hamas allegedly using "human shields" during fighting and only "partial reporting" of this by international media.
The international media reported during the conflict on the alleged use of civilian sites by Palestinian militants to store weapons and fire rockets.
Israel carried out deadly strikes on several U.N. institutions, including schools where displaced civilians were sheltering, saying Hamas's actions forced it to target those areas.
Source: Agence France Presse
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