Monday, September 02, 2002

The BBC's Caroline Hawley previously wrote a fictional report that claimed Israel was planning to eject all Arabs from Jewish cities (see here). Now, in article on the difficulties faced by Palestinians returning to school while curfews are enforced, she writes that:

Mr Abu Homos said he was also worried for the safety of pupils after more than 200 schoolchildren were killed and more than 2,500 wounded last year.

and a photo caption says:

Hundreds of schoolchildren were killed last year


Where do these numbers come from? This study says that from Aug 2000 to Aug 2002 (ie. a two-year period) there were a total of 40 non-combatant Palestinian deaths under age 10 and another 80 between 10 and 14. All deaths of noncombatants are tragic, but the BBC has the duty not to pass on Palestinian exaggerations.

Also, this BBC article says:

Environmentalists warn the salt lake, which is sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews alike, could vanish by 2050 if nothing is done.

The Dead Sea is not in any way "sacred" to Jews.

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