 The jeep in stages of preparation for the terrorist attack as it appeared in a clip distributed by the PIJ to Arab and Palestinian media. The TV and Press signs which were attached before the attack are not shown in the clip. ( Jerusalem Battalions’ Website, June 10). |
 The jeep at the Kissufim Crossing, prominently displaying TV and Press signs. No picture of the jeep with the signs was distributed by either the PIJ or Fatah, both of which denied that it had been camouflaged as a media vehicle (Photo courtesy of the Yediot HaAharonot and Meir Azoulai). |
1. On June 10 a video clip about the attack at the Kissufim Crossing was posted on the PIJ’s Website. It showed preparations for the attack, including Jerusalem Battalions operatives fortifying the jeep later used. It also showed the jeep driving toward the Kissufim Crossing, but the pictures were deliberately blurred so that the TV and Press signs could not be seen. The video clip showing the jeep without Press and TV signs was distributed to the Arab and Palestinian media after the attack; one of the channels broadcasting it was Al-Jazeera TV (June 9).
2. The PIJ video was photographed before the jeep was camouflaged and made a deliberate attempt to mislead viewers and hide important facts . Abu Ahmad, a PIJ spokesman, also made a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, when after the attack he described the jeep as a �white armored vehicle similar to that used by the Zionist command.� He made no mention of its having been camouflaged as a media vehicle .
3. In addition, Abu Hamza and Abu Ahmad, both Jerusalem Battalions spokesmen, claimed that the jeep was military and denied that it had borne signs identifying it as a media vehicle. They blamed the �Zionist enemy� for misleading public opinion (Paltoday Website, June 10; Abu Hamza to Quds Press, June 9).
4. In the absence of freedom of movement and access to where fighting takes place, to a great extent the Arab and Western media are forced to rely on verbal and visual reporting supplied by the Palestinian terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. 2That reliance necessarily exposes the media to manipulation and fabrications integrated into �factual� information and the photographs supplied to them by the terrorist organization, as is clearly illustrated by the Kissufim Crossing attack. 3
