Did Israeli soldiers arrest Palestinian youths recently for the “crime” of picking flowers and vegetables located on a Jewish outpost in the West Bank?
That’s exactly the story being propagated by the Associated Press (AP) in a piece based entirely on a video and statement supplied by the provocative NGO B’Tselem.
The AP article, which was republished in major outlets such as ABC News, suggested: “Israeli troops detained five Palestinian children for several hours after they were confronted by Jewish settlers while gathering wild artichokes near a settlement outpost.”
The story was also written up by other sites such as Business Insider and NBC News.
Even before the piece was published in the media, the Independent’s Middle East correspondent, Bel Trew, wrote in a Twitter thread on Wednesday that, “Israel arrested 5 Palestinian children aged 7-11… after they were picking flowers near a settlement in the occupied West Bank according to rights groups.”
The claims, too, are based entirely on anecdotal and partial evidence provided by B’Tselem.
Israel arrested 5 Palestinian children aged 7-11 today after they were picking flowers near a settlement in the occupied West Bank according to rights groups. @btselem says they are police station in Kiryat Arba . Photos: Nasser Nawaj’ah (B’Tselem) pic.twitter.com/rFp5aAr0ov
— Bel Trew (@Beltrew) March 10, 2021
There are three major problems with Trew’s statement:
1. The correct term is “detain,” not arrest. The children were brought to a police station and later released into the custody of their families.
2. There is video footage of the children trespassing on a Jewish farm. The sounds of farmyard animals are clearly recorded on the video, and the children are seen crouching alongside what a voice on the video describes as a parrot cage. That is the reason why they were detained. There is no evidence to back up the claim that they were held for picking flowers (or vegetables).
3. The claim was not made by “rights groups” in the plural, but a single group, which has repeatedly made clear its anti-Israel agenda.
When children are not just ‘children’
Unfortunately, there is a sad history of terror groups in the region using minors for attacks, which is a war crime.
Whether or not that was the case with these children, this important context informs IDF policy and goes some way to explain why the army removed the youths from the site — for the safety of all those concerned.
Here is an example of a Palestinian terror attack carried out by a teenager.
B’Tselem: Not a reliable news source
It is important to bear in mind that B’Tselem has been accused of “major omissions and distortions,” using figures that are not reliable, and failing to present definitive evidence that would justify its allegations, such as claims that Israel violated international humanitarian law during the 2014 war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
More recently, it produced a report in January that describes Israel as practicing apartheid — a claim so obviously false that even The Guardian was moved to call it “a deliberate provocation.”
B’Tselem’s video activists specifically have a reputation for going well beyond what could be considered reasonable behavior for an NGO, with former soldiers accusing members of the group of directing rock-throwing Palestinian mobs in the direction of Israeli soldiers.
The numerous media reports we cited uncritically relied on B’Tselem’s claim, which is a journalistic failure on two levels. First, for using a single source for a story, without additional sources to back up the B’Tselem version of events; and second, for neglecting the basic duty to point out that the organization has repeatedly faced accusations of being agenda-driven and has consequently developed a reputation for not always being credible. This information is essential so that news readers can evaluate the information properly.
Unfortunately, media outlets all-too-frequently lend credence to statements made by groups such as B’Tselem, often without allowing room for alternative perspectives.
Earlier this year, HonestReporting challenged the AP after it published an article describing B’Tselem as a leading proponent of human rights and detailing its accusations that Israel was practicing apartheid, all without allowing any comment from an individual or organization that disagreed with B’Tselem’s highly tendentious claim. Following the publication of our critique, the AP later updated the story to provide a measure of balance.
A version of this article was originally published by HonestReporting, where the author is on staff.
