Nina Lakhani, senior reporter for Guardian US, wanted to report that Israel is intentionally starving Palestinians, including children, to death, and she wasn’t going to let facts contradicting her pre-determined conclusion get in the way of her ideological project. Not only does Lakhani’s X history reveal no posts that can condemn Hamas, just two days after the terror group’s massacre, rape, torture and mutilation of Jews, she pulled the ‘it didn’t happen in a vacuum‘ alibi for the worst antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust.
“These developments did not occur in a vacuum," said the permanent UN observer mission in Palestine. 'They are preceded by the killing this year of hundreds of Palestinians … and by decades of Israel’s unrelenting military raids on villages, towns, cities & refugee camps."
— Nina Lakhani (@ninalakhani) October 9, 2023
Her piece (“Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says”, Feb. 27), begins by citing Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, who told the Guardian that “There is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses and orchards in Gaza – other than to deny people access to food.”
Fakhri, a Canadian-Lebanese law professor, has ideological baggage galore – sufficient to doubt the veracity of his Guardian-friendly anti-Israel talking points. He’s described Canada – Canada! – as a “settler colony” which he accused of committing a “race-based genocide against indigenous peoples” that is “ongoing.” He also signed an academics’ petition affirming “the Palestinian struggle as an indigenous liberation movement confronting a settler colonial state“, accused Zionism of “enshrining “the racial supremacy of Jewish-Zionist nationals.”
On his X page, he failed to condemn the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre. Yet, as early as Oct. 19, he began accusing Israel of genocide.
We are sounding the alarm: There is a risk of genocide against the Palestine people. https://t.co/Me8D3fkl1R
— Michael Fakhri (@MichaelFakhri) October 19, 2023
The Guardian provides ample space to the special rapporteur to spout rhetoric accusing Israel of “intentionally depriving people of food”, and claims the state has announced its intention to commit “genocide”, which he concludes renders the “entire state of Israel in its entirety” culpable, not just individuals or this government or that person.” Yet, contrary to the most basic journalistic ethics, she fails to include even one sentence citing an Israeli agency, ministry or spokesperson refuting such charges.
For instance, rejecting complaints from international agencies about the allegedly low volume of food and other aid reaching Gaza, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said on January 17 that “Israel has excess capacity to inspect and process trucks” and that “there is no backlog and no limitation on our end.
Indeed, all the intrepid reporter needed to do was to consult COGAT, cite the organisation’s data or quote their repeated statements that, per Levy, there are no limits on humanitarian aid (including food) entering Gaza. In fact, since Hamas’s invasion, Israel has facilitated the delivery of over 173,000 tons of food to the strip.
As we see, Lakhani is relatively active on X, So, the journalist could have simply cited daily updates by the organisation, such as these:
🚛174 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were inspected and transferred to the Gaza Strip today.
There is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza and northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/HHqEu12FbJ
— COGAT (@cogatonline) February 26, 2024
An airdrop operation successfully delivered 160 packages of food and medical supplies to residents of southern Gaza and to the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Yunis (Feb. 27). This collaborative effort involved Israel, the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, France, and the USA. #airdropaid pic.twitter.com/ZXs7HWfAvI
— COGAT (@cogatonline) February 28, 2024
Overnight, (Feb 28.) A convoy of 31 trucks carrying food made its way to northern Gaza Strip.
Over the last 3 days, close to 50 trucks were transferred to the northern Gaza Strip.
There is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid for the civilians in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/WSfEuickGL— COGAT (@cogatonline) February 28, 2024
If she wanted to be a professional journalist, she also could have noted COGAT’s repeated criticism of UNRWA for – in addition to its documented ties to Hamas – failing to deliver aid sent across the border by Israel.
You distributed less than 80% of the aid that entered Gaza. There is still a huge amount waiting on the Gazan side of Keren Shalom.
If @UNRWA wasn't such a failure logistically (perhaps investing its resources in other areas instead), more aid would reach the people of Gaza. https://t.co/f9Z2RdvKoG
— COGAT (@cogatonline) February 26, 2024
She also could reminded readers that Hamas often steals food aid sent by humanitarian organisations.
This video released by the IDF shows Hamas stealing humanitarian aid meant for Gazan citizens and beating any person who tries to get to the food and supplies.
Hamas has brought nothing but devastation on the Palestinians of Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ts1QfaVKEf
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) December 9, 2023
Moreover, in an effort to buttress her libel that Israel intentionally starves Palestinians, the Guardian journalist writes that “Israel has made foraging for native wild herbs like za’atar (thyme), ‘akkoub (gundelia) and miramiyyeh (sage) a criminal offense punishable by fines and up to three years’ imprisonment“. However, the law in question, instituted by Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority as a conservation policy, applied to all Israeli citizens and residents, Jews and non-Jews. Further, even that policy – which didn’t even apply to Palestinians living under PA control – was revoked in 2019.
Later in the article – again, in an attempt to support her desired conclusion that Israel is ‘starving’ Palestinians – she writes that “Palestinians fishers have for years been shot at, arrested and sabotaged by Israeli forces“, without mentioning the context of Israeli limits on the number of nautical miles imposed on Gazan fisherman: the rise of Hamas, and the natural desire to limit their ability to import dangerous weapons into the territory – weapons used to such lethal effect on Oct. 7. In fact, as our colleague Tamar Sternthal documented, even with the current restrictions, the metric tons of fish caught in the waters of the territory have increased significantly since the blockade was established.
The piece by Lakhani is an egregious example of anti-Israel activism under the guise of journalism that we’ve seen continually at the Guardian. As we’ve continued to demonstrate in post after post, the outlet’s reporting since that organised antisemitic savagery on that dark Shabbat day four months ago has been effectively pro-Hamas.
You are allowed to tell bare faced lies within Islam, deception or takiyya is the most used cult weapon in the world. Everyone knows that the Jews in Jerusalem had the first temple destroyed thousands of years ago, then the second temple was built, that too was destroyed by the Romans and then some 700 years AD Islam was invented and Temple Mount and the Al Aksa mosque were built. Therefore why do Muslims, in full knowledge of these facts still claim that Jerusalem is theirs? The Grauniad reporters know full well that they are telling lies, their anti-Israel, antisemitic stance shines out like a beacon, they only want to sell subscriptions to newspapers, the actual truth gets in the way of their aims #journalismisdead