Washington Post Editorial Fairly Portrays Near Anarchy In Gaza, But Where Are The News Reports?

Directions

The Washington Post, in a refreshingly fair editorial yesterday, recognized that the Palestinian Authority has an obligation to take control of Gaza, that it is failing in that obligation, that Gaza now teeters on the verge of anarchy, that Egypt has failed to fulfill its agreement to control the border of Gaza with Egypt and has, since Israel’s withdrawal, allowed wild and uncontrolled border crossings of thousands of Palestinians, including members of the terrorist organizations smuggling weapons from Egypt, and that the need to confront and disarm terrorist groups is becoming ever more apparent since Israel withdrew from Gaza. (Bad Start in Gaza, Thursday, 9-15-05, A32)

But where are the news reports about what is going on in Gaza? Apart from the occasional 2 or 3 sentence blurb in the World In Brief section, the Post’s news coverage of these events in Gaza has been virtually non-existent. Post readers experienced daily, in depth coverage of Israel’s evacuation of Gaza. Now that the evacuation by Israel is over, part of the same story is the Palestinian committment to control Gaza after Israel’s departure. The editorial notes that Palestinians are failing in this committment. Yet news coverage has been spotty at best.

The Post’s editors in their public appearances boast of the fact that the Post has its own correspondent on the ground in the region and does not have to rely upon wire service reports, but where are the news reports? Unfortunately, it appears the Post follows a “speak no evil” policy when it comes to reporting news that shows Palestinians failing to fulfill their side of the peace equation. Readers should not be learning of a serious problem in the region – a problem that the editorial recognizes jeopardizes future peace efforts – from an editorial.