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AP, Reuters & AFP Recycle Tedious ‘Israel Ruined Christmas’ Narrative
An artwork dubbed “scar of Bethlehem” by street artist Banksy is displayed in the Walled Off hotel in Bethlehem, December 22, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma.
As billions of Christians around the globe prepare to celebrate Christmas, the world’s biggest news agencies have been scrabbling around for an angle to cover the Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land.
And they’ve found one.
This year, Reuters tells us in a recent headline, will be the “worst Christmas ever” in Bethlehem.
According to Reuters, the birthplace of Jesus Christ will be deserted because the “war has scared away tourists and pilgrims from the Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.”
Meanwhile, the Associated Press said it would be a “subdued Christmas” in Bethlehem after “officials in Jesus’ traditional birthplace decided to forgo celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war.”
“The cancellation of Christmas festivities, which typically draw thousands of visitors, is a severe blow to the town’s tourism-dependent economy,” the AP noted.
In a similar vein, Agence France Press (AFP) predicted subdued celebrations, explaining that as the “war between Israel and Hamas rages around 100 km (60 miles) away in Gaza — leaving thousands of Palestinians dead and nearly two million displaced and trapped in a humanitarian catastrophe — Christmas will be a muted affair in the occupied West Bank.”
The issue with these articles is that they all sound far too familiar.
In fact, it seems that scarcely a December passes without the wire agencies warning that Christmas has been spoiled in Israel.
In 2021, for example, Reuters announced that in Bethlehem there would be a “muted Christmas with few pilgrims to bring cheer.”
In 2020 — during the Coronavirus pandemic — the Associated Press lamented how the spread of the virus had “rob[bed] biblical Bethlehem of Christmas cheer.”
And a couple of years before that, the AFP was hand-wringing about a “subdued Christmas Eve in the historic birthplace of Jesus” as “Jerusalem tensions overshadow Christmas in Bethlehem.”
As you can see, a pattern is emerging: every year, the world’s biggest wire agencies, which supply news copy to thousands of organizations around the world, suggest Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land have been ruined.
What’s more, such articles more often than not imply Israel is responsible for wrecking the holiday, with this year’s slew being no different.
For example, AP notes that Israel has restricted access to Bethlehem and other Palestinian towns following the Hamas attacks on October 7, which it says has resulted in long lines of motorists waiting at checkpoints.
The agency goes on to observe how Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations have “long been a barometer of Israeli-Palestinian relations,” and references how “celebrations were grim in 2000 at the start of the second intifada… when Israeli forces locked down parts of the West Bank in response to Palestinians carrying out scores of suicide bombings and other attacks that killed Israeli civilians.”
Without being stated directly, the insinuation is clear: Israel is to blame for responding to Palestinian terrorism — and not the Palestinian terrorists whose murderous actions necessitated a response in the first place.
As Israel battles Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip who launched the horrifying terror attack on October 7, the emphasis by the world’s leading news agencies is on how Israel’s prolonging the war has disrupted festive celebrations — and not the fact that Hamas is ultimately responsible having launched the unprovoked attack on innocent civilians in the first place, and that it continues to indiscriminately fire rockets at Israeli towns and cities.
It is lazy and, sadly, predictable journalism: the recycling of the same angle as previous years with the distortion of facts to fit that skewed narrative.
A “humbug” — as popularized by the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol — refers to someone who is deceptive or likely to mislead.
Bah humbug indeed!
The post AP, Reuters & AFP Recycle Tedious ‘Israel Ruined Christmas’ Narrative first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
The post Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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