PA TV libel: Israel wanted to destroy Gaza’s agriculture during 2021 war
Official PA TV and guests on its program Anew completely ignored the fact that the terror organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip in May 2021, killing 12 and wounding hundreds, when discussing Israel’s response to the rockets. Whereas Israel's response targeted the terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Strip, PA TV and the guests claimed it was a deliberate way to harm Palestinian civilians by targeting Gaza’s agriculture.
Interviewing a nursery owner and a farmer in Gaza, a PA TV host libeled and demonized Israel, suggesting that during the Fatah/Hamas riot and rocket war earlier this year Israel intentionally bombed agricultural nurseries to put an end to Gaza farming. The nursery owner and farmer both readily concurred:
Official PA TV host: “Do you think that the occupation wanted to bomb the agricultural nurseries in order to stop the agricultural process and cycle?”
Nursery owner: “Yes.”
Farmer Ahmed Al-Louh: “Yes. In the last war in the Gaza Strip the occupation wanted to destroy the agricultural cycle completely. Why? Because the nurseries are considered the supporting pillar of the farmers and the agriculture in the Gaza Strip… If the nursery is destroyed, the agricultural industry will not grow.”
[Official PA TV, Anew, Aug. 21, 2021]
However, when responding to rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, Israel only attacks military targets. By contrast, Hamas and Islamic Jihad deliberately fire missiles from civilian areas, using the civilians as human shields and their property as cover.
Ironically, PA TV itself admitted during the war that Israel warned Gazan civilians to leave buildings before attacks:
As Palestinian Media Watch documented, Fatah recently criticized Hamas for its continued storage of explosives in civilian buildings and public places after an explosion in a market killed one and wounded several:
Palestinian Media Watch has documented numerous PA libels demonizing Israel in various ways.