Video: France24 On Hamas Rule In Gaza -- But Where's The Whole Story?

France24 has a short piece on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of Hamas rule in Gaza.

What do you think: are they too harsh?




One thing missing is an account of Hamas came to power, sole power in Gaza. There is no mention of the fact that Hamas came to power through a bloody coup where they kicked out Fatah:

Hamas and Fatah killed innocents in Gaza war-report

Hamas and Fatah committed "grave breaches" of international law in their brief civil war in the Gaza Strip in June, a Palestinian human rights group said on Tuesday, detailing a series of extra-judicial killings.

In a new report, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said 161 Palestinians, of whom 41 were civilians, were killed during fighting between June 7 and June 14 in which Hamas Islamists took control of the territory from secular Fatah.

"The two sides perpetrated grave breaches of the provisions of international law concerning internal armed conflicts, including extra-judicial and wilful killings and shooting at combatants and civilians after capturing them," the PCHR said.

In some cases, people were seized by gunmen in their homes and their bodies were later found dumped in remote areas.

"The PCHR also documented a number of cases, in which militants executed wounded persons during their evacuation to hospitals," the 105-page report said, citing testimony from relatives of the dead.

That is history.
There is another, more current issue, that France24 ignores.

But that's OK, the rest of the media is also ignoring the fact that Hamas has been demolishing the homes of Gazans:

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip plans to raze another 180 Palestinian houses, on top of the 20 it recently demolished in the southern town of Rafah, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights charged on Thursday.

The 20 houses already destroyed were home to some 150 people, who are now homeless and living in tents, the organization said.

The government said it razed the houses because they were built illegally on government land. The organization said that Hamas plans to use the same pretext to demolish houses in Khan Yunis and other towns.

Of course, when Israel does anything of the sort, the media jumps.

But somehow, Hamas is exempt from such scrutiny.

Both now.
And 2 years ago--Hamas destroys dozens of homes in Gaza:

Hamas police wielding clubs beat and pushed residents out of dozens of homes in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday before knocking the buildings down with bulldozers, residents said.

Gaza's militant Hamas rulers said the homes were built illegally on government land. Newly homeless residents were furious over Palestinians on bulldozers razing Palestinian homes.

For years, Palestinians have criticized Israel for destroying houses, mostly because they were built without permits issued by the military. Now, Rafah residents complained, their own government, run by the Islamic militant Hamas that seized power in Gaza in July 2007, has done the same.

It's nice that France24 noticed that there is something to report on in Gaza.
But why do they hold back?

I suppose we should be grateful they mention the rockets fired on Israeli citizens--but to pass over the fact that Hamas is firing rockets at civilians in contravention of international law as if this is normal indicates how this report, and so much of media reporting, is useless.

Technorati Tag: Media Bias and Gaza and Hamas.