As part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, imprisoned Palestinian criminals have been exchanged in return for some of the approximately 240 hostages taken by Hamas. Many of those hostages include innocent women, children, and the elderly, while among the Palestinian prisoners included Israa Jaabees, who was released on Sunday. The New York Times, in covering the negotiations as part of their updates on the Israel-Hamas War, had a rather curious way of profiling Jaabees.
"A disfigured woman whose case has become well known is among the Palestinians released," read one such update. As the coverage on Jaabees read in part:
Perhaps the most well-known name on the list of 39 Palestinian prisoners and detainees released from an Israeli jail early Sunday was Israa Jaabees, who was accused of attempted murder by Israel and had been in jail since 2015.
She was arrested that year after her car exploded at a checkpoint near Jerusalem in the West Bank, leaving her disfigured and an Israeli police officer seriously injured.
Such paragraphs are a classic example of the mainstream media providing such coverage as if an inanimate object--in this case, Jaabees' car--could act on its own. The update also pointed to a supposed motive behind Jaabees criminal actions, with added emphasis:
She claimed that it was an accidental fire, according to an account from Addameer, a prisoners’ rights organization. The Israeli authorities said it had been an act of terrorism.
Her story was featured in the documentary “Advocate” about the Israeli lawyer who represented her, Lea Tsemel, that was released in 2019 and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. Ms. Tsemel floated the idea that Ms. Jaabees might have been depressed and trying to commit what’s known as “suicide by cop,” according to write-ups of the film.
The update even included statements from Jaabees family lamenting the Israel-Hamas war, specifically her uncle, Talal Jaabees:
Mr. Jaabees said the family was grateful that Ms. Jaabees was freed, but sorrowful that the deal was reached after thousands of Gazans had been killed and injured. Before the deal calling for a four-day pause in fighting, Israel had bombarded the enclave in response to Hamas’s attack in Israel last month.
“Their release is through bloodshed,” he said. “The feelings are mixed: It’s a great joy that our daughter will be with us after eight years and the circumstances she experienced, but there is pain and sadness from the oppression we are under.”
When it comes to "Hamas's attack in Israel last month" that is briefly mentioned, Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis--most of them civilians. It was the bloodiest day in Israel's history and resulted in the most Jews killed since the Holocaust. Hamas not only indiscriminately murdered men, women and children--not even sparing babies or Holocaust survivors--but also engaged in torture, rape, and kidnapping.
Yet to those like the Jaabees family, they appear to be the ones suffering, even after their criminal family member has been released in exchange for women, children, elderly, and those sick and injured.
Screenshots of the update in question have appeared across X, with many taking issue with the narrative from The New York Times. The outlet has run into problems over the Israel-Hamas war before, especially when it comes to who they've allowed to cover the conflict. The New York Times was even among those outlets that was exposed for hiring freelances seen alongside Hamas on October 7.
Think about what it says that this terrorist is both revered in #Resistance circles and covered for by the New York Times https://t.co/6QXf7qp8ed
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) November 26, 2023
Disfigured from an attempted suicide bomb, by the way. pic.twitter.com/9UWhboPJhZ
— Ian Haworth (@ighaworth) November 26, 2023
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