 |
         
|
That blast of publicity about the plight of the blockaded Gaza Strip did not last long. The self-styled Freedom Flotilla from Turkey purchased an unaccustomed focus on Israel's policy towards Gaza with the lives of nine activists, shot by IDF commandos before dawn on Monday. All three newscasts covered the bid to bust the blockade on Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday, Gaza had already been dropped from ABC's agenda. CBS had London-based Richard Roth quote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the cruise liner Marmara: "It was not a Love Boat. It was a hate boat." NBC treated the story most seriously, sending Andrea Mitchell to Tel Aviv.
Mitchell found Netanyahu "defiant about the commando raid, saying Israel has to defend itself from weapons smuggled into Gaza but he offered no proof that there were weapons on board and he claimed there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza." Mitchell conceded that a Gaza family, made homeless by the Israeli invasion 18 months ago, does have "cooking oil and a small bag of vegetables." Nevertheless, the entire 1.5m population is "strangled by poverty, unemployment and hopelessness," she asserted.
You must be logged in to this website to leave a comment. Please click here to log in so you can participate in the discussion.
