"Hamas Strikes at Gaza Clan Known for Criminal Activity," A16, Wednesday, 9/17/08
By Taghreed El-Khodary and Isabel Kershner
The article details a Gaza Strip gun battle between Hamas forces and members of the Dagmush clan in which 11 Dagmush members were killed (including a 1 year-old child) and a Hamas police officer.
Hamas's strike against the clan's compound took place as a result of the killing of another Hamas police officer earlier in the day by a Dagmush member who was resisting arrest.
The Dagmush clan is notorious for its criminal activity (arms smuggling, drugs) as well as its involvement in jihadi-inspired militant groups, such as the Army of Islam, which was responsible for the kidnapping of BBC journalist Alan Johnston and participated in the abduction of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit.
As the authors frame the issue, particularly by the title of the article, the crackdown of such a violent group is a positive development and in this sense, an achievement for Hamas:
"The assault on the powerful Dagmush clan... signaled an apex in the campaign by Hamas... to impose internal order, and it was welcomed by many people here."
Employing the phrasing "imposing internal order" is quite euphemistic given Hamas' authoritarian nature. Hamas' objecitve is not simply to "impose order" but to quash any other focal points of power. The New York Times should be honest about Hamas' motives.
Furthermore, it is important to the note the relationship between the free media and authoritarian regimes that do not permit dissent. Hamas, as well as Fatah, have no commitment to the venerated concept of free speech and do not permit any truth that is critical of their self-serving organizations or supportive of Israel (and will also skew the truth or create falsehoods to promote their policies).
In this context, journalists in the West Bank and Gaza can be threatened for providing unfavorable coverage. Fatah and Hamas can also deny journalists key sources of information, such as personal interviews, for being "uncooperative."
A seasoned observer of the conflict should always keep these issues in mind.
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There were a couple of real positives in this article:
ReplyDelete1. "...several women who were shot in the knees by Hamas forces."
readers get a sense of how depraved Hamas is
2. When describing a prospective prisoner trade for Schalit, the article mentions that among the hundred Hamas demands released, there are those "convicted of deadly terrorist attacks".
Simple, honest direct language by the Times -- for a change.
http://web.me.com/mattabes/how_fit/comment_1.html
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