PMWATCH -- October 18, 2002 -- According to the latest reports from the Israeli human rights group B'tselem, 80% of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army while enforcing curfew are children. For the full report, see: http://www.betselem.org/English/Press_Releases/2002/021016.asp.

This report and the scandalous facts it reveals have of course gone unmentioned in the US media. Instead, the story according to the media is that things are "relatively quiet" (until the next suicide bombing, that is), except for the annoying daily clashes here and there that claim the expected and perfectly ordinary (as New York Times assistant editor Ed Marks blithefully informed us -- see: http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/cast/call100802.asp)half dozen or so natives. For instance, we are being told tday by CNN that "Clash at refugee camp kills 6 Palestinians", with the further qualifier that "IDF says it responded to attack". The New York Times also talks about "clashes", as in, "Clashes Kill 6 on Gaza - Egypt Border", while the Washington Post headlines it: "6 Killed, Dozens Hurt in Gaza Clash". The interesting thing is that the notion that there was a clash is precisely the IDF's version, while the Palestinians' version is that the Israelis shelled the houses randomly, killing 6 civilians, among them 2 chidren. Why is the media so blatantly repeating -- in fact, headlining -- the IDF's version?

Please don't let the media get away with such abysmal journalism. Ask them why they are ignoring the latest shocking revelations about the Israeli army's deliberate killing of Palestinian children; and please challenge them to live up to a minimum standard of decent journalism.

Please consider calling your newspaper or your favorite media outlet. Media contact info is at: http://www.pmwatch.org/pmw/contact/media.html.

The main ones to call are:

The Associated Press:

	New York Headquarters: Tel 212-621-1500 Fax 212-621-7523 
	Washington Bureau: Tel 202-776-9400 Fax 202-776-9570
 
National Public Radio  
	Address 635 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington DC 20001 
	Tel 202-513-2000  
	Fax 202-513-3329 
	Letters yourturn@npr.org  
	Ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin ombudsman@npr.org
	Foreign Editor Loren Jenkins ljenkins@npr.org 202-414-2298
	Israel/OT Correspondent Linda Gradstein lgradstein@npr.org

CNN Headquarters 
	Address One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta GA 30303 
	Tel 404-827-1500 
	Fax 404-827-1906 
	Email cnn.feedback@cnn.com community@cnn.com  
 
Washington Post
	Address 1150 15th St, NW, Washington DC 20071
	Tel 202-334-6000
	Fax 202-496-3883
	Letters letters@washpost.com (Martha McAteer, letters editor)
	Ombudsman Michael Getler ombudsman@washpost.com 202-334-7582
	Foreign Editor David Hoffman 202-334-5553
	Asst Foreign Editors Philip Bennett bennettp@washpost.com , 

USA Today
	Address 7950 Jones Branch Dr, McLean VA 22108
	Tel 800-872-0001 or 703-854-3400 
	Op-Ed Editor Glen Nishimura gnishimura@usatoday.com  

New York Times
	Address 229 W 43rd St, New York NY 10036
	Tel 212-556-1234 (DC bureau: 202-862-0300)
	Fax 212-556-3690/3622

Palestine Media Watch
http://www.pmwatch.org

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A look at Israeli attacks on Palestinians, causing civilian casualties
The Associated Press
Monday, October 7, 2002
©2002 Associated Press

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/10/07/international1855EDT0805.DTL

(10-07) 15:55 PDT (AP) --

With BC-Israel-Palestinians

Here is a list of Israeli attacks on Palestinians that caused extensive civilian casualties.

* May 18, 2001: An Israeli F-16 warplane attacks a Nablus jail, killing 11 people, mostly policemen, and wounding 30 people. The target of the strike was the prison's only inmate, Hamas militant Mahmoud Abu Hanoud. He escaped with light injuries.

* March 4, 2002: Israeli tank shells hit a pickup truck in Ramallah, killing the wife of an Islamic militant and her three children. A second car is hit by shrapnel, killing two children. The target was the owner of the truck, Hamas leader Hussein Abu Kweik. He was not in the vehicle.

* July 23, 2002: An F-16 warplane drops a one-ton bomb on an apartment house in Gaza City, killing Saleh Shehadeh, head of the Hamas military wing, and his bodyguard. Thirteen bystanders, including nine children, are also killed.

* Sept. 26, 2002: Two Hamas militants are killed in a helicopter missile attack in Gaza aimed at Hamas bombing mastermind Mohammed Deif. At least 15 children are among 35 people wounded, and Deif was also wounded.

* Oct. 7, 2002: Fourteen people are killed in an army raid on Khan Younis, a town in the central Gaza Strip. Eleven died when a missile slammed into a large crowd. Palestinian officials said all the dead were civilians, while the Israeli army most were armed men killed in battle.

©2002 Associated Press