WAR VIEWS

HEADSET CONTRIBUTORS on the media coverage and other issues coming out of Gaza

Pro-Israeli media outlets don’t focus on why Hamas was firing the rockets into Israel and refuse to condemn both sides and the pro-Palestine ones only blame Israel for the violence – so both can be said to be biased. But it’s revealing to look at the Stop the War and similar websites and compare them with pro-Israeli ones, which do not focus on the history of the region. History after all is what provides a context for the causes of the conflict.
BERNARD SHEERAN

There is a pro-Israeli Zionist agenda in the UK and US media which would like us to think Israel can do no wrong. It seems to blame all Palestinian deaths on the Palestinians, rather than blaming the people who actually dropped the bombs on those innocent lives. The BBC even posted an article on its website blaming Hamas for the bombing of a UN school, saying Hamas were firing rockets from inside it, without any evidence. Even if this had been so, they could have sent ground troops in rather than bombing it. Fox News say that Hamas started this war by firing rockets into Israel in early December as if nothing happened before that. They have hidden information that this is a war that has been going on for decades and that Israel has oppressed the Palestinians, preventing food and supplies from going into Gaza. As far as I’m concerned, networks like Al-Jazeera have presented the war fairly because it has reported how homes, mosques, schools and government buildings and hospitals have been targeted by Israeli jets. People might say that it has a pro-Palestinian bias, but I think they are reporting the truth and if the truth is pro-Palestinian, then so be it
AHMED AHMED

From a political point of view I think it is impossible to say who’s right and who’s wrong. All I know is that hundreds of innocents are dying and no one is trying to provide useful suggestions to stop this. Each party in the conflict has its own agenda – Shiites will believe in what Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah) is saying before he even says it. Large sections of the Arab public do not care anymore, because things have gone on in the same way for the past 61 years, since the foundation of Israel, and also because it’s lost trust in the leaders. And on the other side you have people who back Israel because they believe in the Israeli project, no matter what the outcomes and costs will be.
ZAIN AL JANABI

The Israeli military’s massacre of 1,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, has been ignored by world leaders. They could not protect them against their cowardly attacks and the Israeli government should stand trial for their crimes against humanity, including the use of chemical weapons. The people of Gaza have the right to resist and protect their territorial integrity. They are under oppression and occupation by Israel’s soldiers who wage war on innocent women and children and closing down the borders to stop any aid getting in. These people are totally innocent and the UN and international organisations should make the Israelis pay for the damage and the massacre of innocent Palestinians.
SAIKOUBA CEESAY CEE07073917@student.cnwl.ac.uk

From what I can see from the media coverage, most outlets are taking Israel’s side in the Gaza war. I totally disagree with this because innocent people are dying. I wish the Israelis would forget about politics, religion and land just for once and realise what they are doing. As a Muslim, I feel very strongly about this. I was shocked when I looked at the Israeli website infolivetv, which has a section which is totally devoted to “terrorism”. This is absolutely so ridiculous – they post articles on their website about terrorism when they themselves are the terrorists! Now that Obama is President I just pray that things will change for the better, but have low hopes. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan is still going on and it’s like no one cares.
SAMERA RACHYAL