Palestinian Paper Maan Sure Knows How To Spin A Good Story

Maan News Agency boasts that it is "among the most browsed websites in the Palestinian territories with over 3 million visits per month" and "Considered the main source of independent news from Palestine".

So much the worse for the rest of us.

Earlier this week, they came out with the story--Doctor: Israel using new weapons against Gaza

The head of an emergency ward in a Gaza hospital said Monday that Israel was using new and more brutal weapons against the Gaza Strip, after a deadly attack Thursday in Israel.


Dr Ayman As-Sahbani, head of Shifa hospital's emergency ward, said patients were admitted with "horrific" injuries and some bodies arrived with burns which left them unrecognizable.

Israeli forces began a four-day bombardment Thursday killing 14 Palestinians and wounding dozens more in a series of airstrikes and drone strikes which followed an attack that killed eight Israeli citizens.

As-Sahbani said Israeli weapons made no distinction between women, children and the elderly, pointing out that a two-year-old toddler and a 13-year-old boy were among those killed in the latest escalation.

With nothing to substantiate the claim other than Maan's word for the veracity of the report, we are left to others to report the facts.

Elder of Ziyon reports that according to the UN, the Arabs themselves killed the boy:

A UN report from OCHA shows that this 13 year old boy was killed by a Grad terror rocket that fell short, not Israeli fire:

Between Friday, 19 August and Sunday, 21 August, initial reports indicate that the Israeli Air Force carried out approximately 30 air strikes on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of seven Palestinians, and the injury of approximately 30 additional Palestinians. Tank fire from Israel forces stationed along the border and at sea was also reported, without casualty or damage. During the same period, tens of rockets and mortars fired by Palestinian armed groups towards cities in southern Israel resulted in the death of one Israeli civilian and the injury of six, including a baby and a nine-yearold child. One Palestinian child, 13-years-old, was also killed, and six others injured, when a GRAD rocket fired by Palestinian armed groups fell short.

Here is a another article from Maan that has no basis in reality: Detainees ministry: Israel threatens 'mistreatment' in prisons:

Palestinians in Israeli jails have been threatened with worsening prison conditions, beginning at the start of September, the Ministry of Detainees in Ramallah said Wednesday.

...Palestinian detainees minister Issa Qaraqe said Israel's prison authority told the detainees that a new set of procedures would be introduced to "exacerbate their miserable conditions."

...In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the prison service to toughen conditions for Palestinian detainees in an effort to pressure Hamas to release captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Not surprisingly, Maan doesn't give any actual example of what terrible things Israel is threatening to do, nor is there even examples of the "miserable conditions"

The best Maan offered was a picture of a prison in Ashkelon, a stock picture they admit is from 2006:

I have some pictures of the prison life of Arabs in Israeli prisons too:

The photos are from an article that reports:

Ma'ariv says that a Hamas-affiliated prisoner, Haytham Battat, uploaded on his Facebook page three weeks ago a short YouTube film he entitled "Take me to Jihad." The film, according to Ma'ariv, included a song in Arabic dedicated to the Chechen rebels. A few minutes after the film was uploaded, his mother wrote a comment saying, “Oh my beloved son. This is a great song. I hope you and all prisoners will be released tomorrow morning."

The strange part of the story is that Battat updates his Facebook page from his prison cell. Battat is 27 and he is serving three consecutive life sentences after he was convicted of masterminding a bombing in Beersheba. He posted on his page photos shot inside the prison in one of which he is sitting with Sa’id Shalalda, who was convicted of abducting and killing an Israeli man, Sasson Nuriel, in 2005 near Ramallah.

...Battat is not the only Palestinian prisoner who updates his Facebook page from his prison cell. Ma'ariv’s report says many prisoners have state-of-the-art cell phones which help them access the Internet easily and even make video calls.

Another Palestinian prisoner, Saed Omar, posted on his Facebook page several photos of the lavish meals he and other prisoners are served, the paper reported. Omar is from the Nablus district, and he is affiliated to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He is serving a 19-year sentence. He was said to have posted photos of prisoners preparing stuffed chickens before they gathered around a luxurious table to eat their meal.

With access to cell phones, video calls, Facebook and delicious meals, it is patently obvious that the living conditions in Israeli prisons is anything but miserable.

And why should Maan believe such an article?
Because it's their article--Report: Palestinian prisoners in Israel use Facebook

More than that, in that very same article, Maan reports:

After Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was detained in Gaza, the issue of living conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails surfaced as an issue, with hardliners advocating the abolition of prisoners rights. There were attempts to toughen prison conditions.

In the context of the article, it is very clear what is meant by toughening prison conditions.

So is Maan distorting the news, or does it just simply report everything it is told without verifying--even if Maan ends up contradicting itself?

Technorati Tag: Israel and Media Bias.