A Guardian op-ed (“I was Israel’s most senior diplomat. I urge Australia to recognise Palestine”, Aug. 9) by Alon Liel, the former director general of Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs, argued that Canberra’s recognition of ‘Palestine’ would bolster those striving for two democratic states “living peacefully side by side”.
Incongruently, the op-ed was illustrated with a photo depicting Palestinian children waving the flag of Hamas, the Islamist extremist group which rejects Israel’s right to exist and whose leadership calls for the mass murder of Jews.
.@guardian op-ed by @AlonLiel calling for a peaceful two-state solution oddly illustrated with a photo of Palestinian children waving Hamas flags. pic.twitter.com/WjJCplCOc0
— CAMERA UK (Formerly UK Media Watch and BBC Watch) (@CAMERAorgUK) August 9, 2023
Though this clearly wasn’t the editors intention, the photo choice actually reflects reality, at least insofar as recent polls show that far more Palestinians support another violent intifada than support two-states.
However, as the photo had the effect of legitimising Hamas, we tweeted the Guardian’s head of photography, Fiona Fields, who we’ve contacted previously to successfully get the outlet to remove inappropriate photos. Within a few minutes, the photo was replaced with one more consistent with the message of the op-ed.
“Living peacefully side by side” – He’s having a Larf !
Nobody want the 2SS – least of all the PA – they would lose their begging rights.