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Media Can’t Resist ‘Killer Copter’ Narrative in Exaggerated Jenin Raid Reports
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by Rachel O'Donoghue
Illustrative: A Palestinian throws a chair at burning tires during clashes with Israeli forces following a raid, in Jenin in the West Bank April 9, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/File Photo
The Israeli arrest raid in Jenin this week was different from previous raids in one respect: the terrorists who fired on IDF soldiers were so heavily armed and well-fortified that Israel was forced to deploy a helicopter to aid the extraction of its military personnel.
Indeed, the West Bank city was so infested with terrorists, that eight Israel soldiers were injured in the operation, after coming under sustained gunfire, and as a result of a huge roadside bomb being detonated.
The helicopter, according to the IDF, fired a missile into an open area to provide much-needed cover for soldiers from Palestinian gunmen in the vicinity during the extraction. In the course of its operations, it also deployed flares, apparently due to concern that Palestinian terrorists on the ground may have deployed surface-to-air rockets in an attempt to bring the helicopter down.
In total, six Palestinians — at least four of whom were claimed by terrorist organizations — were killed.
While initial news reports about the raid focused on the death toll, pieces published later centered on the use of the Apache gunship in the West Bank for the first time since the Second Intifada two decades ago.
The “Attacker Apache”
Several media outlets erroneously reported that the helicopter had been deployed as an offensive measure, rather than a purely defensive countermeasure.
The New York Times, for example, embedded video footage that clearly shows the chopper dropping flares, but incorrectly described it as “opening fire during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen.”
This is despite the fact that the main body of the Times piece correctly states that the chopper had targeted open areas as Israeli soldiers worked under fire.
The Times later amended its caption in response to HonestReporting’s tweet.
? UPDATE: Thank you @nytimes, for responding to our request and updating the caption. https://t.co/d7RDRcgFw9 pic.twitter.com/2j0OKtNvWl
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 20, 2023
The IDF said they used a helicopter to fire a missile at an open area to allow for extraction. @AP, is that the same as firing “at Palestinian gunmen?” https://t.co/HyQSTs2rPS pic.twitter.com/KXOGCx5baW
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 20, 2023
Missiles v. Flares
Meanwhile, several media outlets published videos of the helicopter deploying flares in the area, but misidentified the defensive salvo as “missiles.”
CNN was forced to correct this mistake after being called out by HonestReporting when it published a photo that clearly showed the helicopter shooting flares, but included a caption that described them as missiles while the copy simply called them “four projectiles.”
In addition, several media outlets, including the Irish Times and BBC, failed to note that flares (clearly a countermeasure tool) were used in the operation at all.
The Killer Copter
The most egregious reporting about the Jenin raid was the number of news organizations that libelously claimed Israel had used the helicopter to shoot at Palestinians, and falsely suggested the Palestinian deaths were a result of missile fire.
In one of the more malicious and patently false headlines, The Daily Beast claimed Israel “attack[ed] a refugee camp.”
Both The Guardian and 7NEWS Australia called the ground-led operation a “helicopter raid,” while the Australian broadcaster also wrongly stated it was a “deadly” air raid and that five Palestinians were killed in a “missile strike.”
However, as video evidence will attest, the Apache only fired on open areas close to where Palestinian terrorists had concealed themselves.
It seems @7NewsAustralia do not fact check their content before it makes it on air.
No, 5 Palestinians were not killed due to a “missile strike” as the lower third reads.
And describing this as a “deadly helicopter raid” is wildly inaccurate. pic.twitter.com/Ghq9Kurjod
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 20, 2023
