CNN lies & United Nations inquiry into the war in Gaza

It has come to my attention that some readers are visiting The Polemical Report having been directed to an earlier post via the ‘from the blogs’ feature, that Sphere provide, on the CNN international website. The article on CNN, which I reluctantly link, is misleading*. The emphasis of the CNN report seems to be the cost of the damages to United Nations property rather than the deaths of innocent people.

CNN say that the UN report recommends that the IDF should “take better precautions”. This a carefully selected quote that underplays the overriding message of the UN report. CNN’s assessment suggests that the IDF were merely careless rather than wilful. It also repeats the claims made Israel Defence Minister Ehud Barak without questioning the validity. Frankly, they omit important facts and mislead. CNN is guilty of lying by omission.

Here are a few things that CNN neglects to mention.

• CNN neglects to mention finding 16 of the UN report, “The board conclude that the IDF [Israeli Defence Force] carried out a direct and intentional strike in to United Nations premises.” The deliberate actions of the IDF resulted in the deaths of unarmed civilians seeking shelter.
  

• CNN neglects to mention the use of white phosphorus.
  

• CNN neglects to mention finding 21 of the UN report, which finds the IDF responsible for deaths within around a school, a well-known designated shelter.

• CNN neglects to mention finding 22 of the UN report which establishes that is no evidence to support the IDF’s claims that Hamas had booby-trapped the school and that Hamas was firing from the school’s grounds.
  

• CNN neglects to mention finding 63 of the UN report, which find that the cause of death and injury of children within another UN designated shelter was the IDF.

• CNN neglects to mention the limited scope of the investigation, which will likely mislead those unacquainted with the facts.

The content of the UN report, which details the bombings of schools, a hospital and deaths of civilians, is merely the tip of the iceberg.

UPDATE
*Since originally posting this, the CNN report has changed. The CNN report now contains quotes from Israeli President Shimon Peres. The statements made by Shimon Peres are false. Peres said, "We’re outraged because they didn't mention Hamas". This is a bald-faced lie. The UN report not only mentioned Hamas but also blamed Hamas for causing damage in one of the incidents that the report looked at. What is more, the statements made by Peres now dominate the CNN report and are largely repeated without contest. CNN is guilty of contextual lies. Misleading the electorate to the extent of Israeli aggression and Palestinian suffering is a harmful and ignoble cause.

If you have not already done so, check out my original post. If you are interested in finding out more about CNN and its reporting of Israel and Palestine then I recommend that you watch Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land.

More posts relating to the United Nations and Israel from The Polemical Report.

To see the 23-page summary that the media coverage is based on, follow the link to ‘Secretary-General’s Summary of the Report of the United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry into certain incidents in the Gaza Strip between 27 December 2008 and 19 January 2009’