Yesterday, Egypt convicted 26 men for planning attacks in Egypt and being linked to Hezbollah. They had been arrested in 2008/2009 on suspicion of planning to strike against tourist sites, popular with Israelis. In its reporting of the development, the BBC website, however, excluded this obvious Israeli connection in favour of highlighting Hezbollah’s opposition to Egypt’s support for the Israeli-led blockade of Gaza.
In ‘Egypt sentences 'Hezbollah cell'’ (Wednesday 28 April), the opening paragraph noted that they were convicted of ‘planning terrorist attacks on ships and tourist sites.’ No further information was given, except that prosecutors had claimed that ‘Hezbollah had told the men to collect intelligence from villages along the Egypt-Gaza border, tourist sites and the Suez Canal.’ That these tourist sites are known locally to be popular with Israelis on vacation was not mentioned.
Instead, the article focused on the relationship between Hezbollah and Egypt, with the final two paragraphs reading as follows:
‘Hezbollah has said the charges are politically motivated and in revenge for the movement's stance on Egypt's support for the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
‘Hezbollah supports Hamas - the Islamic movement which controls the coastal enclave - and has strongly criticised Egypt for not opening its border with Gaza to relieve the Israeli-imposed blockade on the territory.’
All of these points were repeated in ‘Hezbollah: Egyptian jailings 'unjust and politicised'’, which covered the reaction of the Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah to the convictions. Following his statement, the article noted that ‘Hezbollah says [the group] was working to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip.’ In both BBC articles, the only references to Israel were in relation to Hezbollah’s animosity towards Egypt regarding its support for the blockade of Gaza. This is noteworthy given that Israelis are most likely to have been the primary targets of the convicted cell.
Not all media outlets followed suit. Today, The Daily Telegraph published ‘Egypt convicts 26 of plotting to kill tourists’, the first sentence of which read: ‘An Egyptian court yesterday convicted 26 members of a Hezbollah cell group of plotting attacks against Israeli tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal.’ Journalist Samir Al-Atrush went on to report that the leader, Mohammad Qabalan, was allegedly affiliated with the Lebanese militant group Unit 1800, ‘which recruits activists in countries surrounding Israel to attack it.’
While the article also covered the hostility between Egypt and Hezbollah over Egypt’s role in the Gaza blockade, and Hezbollah’s support for Hamas in Gaza, this did not overshadow the fact that the cell was most likely planning to target Israelis. It also noted that the defence admitted that Mohammed Mansur, the group’s leader, had recommended ‘attacks against Israeli holiday-makers in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula’.
In ‘Egypt sentences 'Hezbollah cell'’ (Wednesday 28 April), the opening paragraph noted that they were convicted of ‘planning terrorist attacks on ships and tourist sites.’ No further information was given, except that prosecutors had claimed that ‘Hezbollah had told the men to collect intelligence from villages along the Egypt-Gaza border, tourist sites and the Suez Canal.’ That these tourist sites are known locally to be popular with Israelis on vacation was not mentioned.
Instead, the article focused on the relationship between Hezbollah and Egypt, with the final two paragraphs reading as follows:
‘Hezbollah has said the charges are politically motivated and in revenge for the movement's stance on Egypt's support for the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
‘Hezbollah supports Hamas - the Islamic movement which controls the coastal enclave - and has strongly criticised Egypt for not opening its border with Gaza to relieve the Israeli-imposed blockade on the territory.’
All of these points were repeated in ‘Hezbollah: Egyptian jailings 'unjust and politicised'’, which covered the reaction of the Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah to the convictions. Following his statement, the article noted that ‘Hezbollah says [the group] was working to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip.’ In both BBC articles, the only references to Israel were in relation to Hezbollah’s animosity towards Egypt regarding its support for the blockade of Gaza. This is noteworthy given that Israelis are most likely to have been the primary targets of the convicted cell.
Not all media outlets followed suit. Today, The Daily Telegraph published ‘Egypt convicts 26 of plotting to kill tourists’, the first sentence of which read: ‘An Egyptian court yesterday convicted 26 members of a Hezbollah cell group of plotting attacks against Israeli tourists and shipping in the Suez Canal.’ Journalist Samir Al-Atrush went on to report that the leader, Mohammad Qabalan, was allegedly affiliated with the Lebanese militant group Unit 1800, ‘which recruits activists in countries surrounding Israel to attack it.’
While the article also covered the hostility between Egypt and Hezbollah over Egypt’s role in the Gaza blockade, and Hezbollah’s support for Hamas in Gaza, this did not overshadow the fact that the cell was most likely planning to target Israelis. It also noted that the defence admitted that Mohammed Mansur, the group’s leader, had recommended ‘attacks against Israeli holiday-makers in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula’.
