Waghorn: 'They kept us out of Gaza and Israeli officials spun the war'

[DogPoundPup]

excerpt~
Other conflicts are censored too but the excuses given for keeping us out of Gaza don't stand up to scrutiny. Journalists and the Israeli terminal crossing staff have been in danger from mortar fire for years now, but our joint safety only became an excuse to close the border in the run-up to this offensive. Besides, when the crossings were open for humanitarian reasons, we still weren't allowed in.

The media control seems to have been a calculation made at the highest level in the Israeli government. We would do more harm reporting what was going on in Gaza than we would left outside complaining about restrictions on our press freedom.

I am not sure it worked. There was enormous criticism of the campaign outside Israel, despite the draconian press controls. The news agency pictures and stories gave an account of the fighting and its consequences, however incomplete. And Israel's attitude has become a story. The country has been compared to the likes of China, Zimbabwe and Burma in the way it blocked efforts to report the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Privately, our military minders shared their frustrations with their government's control of the media. They had their own reasons: they wanted us to see at first hand what their soldiers were experiencing. But they also knew it made the world wonder what Israel was trying to hide. Now we have been allowed into Gaza, we are feeding a pent-up demand for information, and the stories of alleged war crimes and atrocities are reinforcing the allegations of a cover- up.

When the Israelis review their policy in the long term, they may well conclude it was an own goal. The accusation they most frequently level at foreign journalists is that we distort the truth to give a biased view. Well for three weeks they have manipulated the way the world has viewed an event of enormous significance. What staggering hypocrisy.

entire article ... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/waghorn-they-kept-us-out-of-gaza-and-israeli-officials-spun-the-war-1514999.html

[madrchsod]

1. bbc overnight and npr ran stories on the idf refusal to let in reporters

and aid workers .....i wonder what the idf is trying to hide....