Israel’s IDF has responded to the New York Times’ accusation that they targeted journalists by pointing out “Hamas and Islamic Jihad use journalists for terrorism.”
At the heart of the matter is the NYT’s claim that certain Palestinians targeted by the IDF during Operation Pillar of Defense were actually journalists. However, it turns out the NYT received its information on the “journalists” from groups with ties to Hamas. The paper relied on The Committee to Protect Journalists for its info, while The Committee to Protect Journalists appears to have relied in part on Hamas.
The IDF has named the three “journalists”–Mohamed Abu Aisha, Hussam Salama, and Mahmoud al-Kumi–and shown that all three had ties to Islamic Jihad or were operatives for Hamas.
The IDF has also put the NYT on notice by reminding them that the sloppiness that leads to blurring the lines between terrorism and journalism is unacceptable, and it leaves the West in a place where anyone who claims journalistic credentials is off limits.
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