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MSNBC Falsely Labeled Israeli Territory as ‘Settlements’ — But Refused On-Air Correction
Firefighters respond to a fire near a rocket attack from Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, June 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
In a report last month on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Keir Simmons erroneously referred to locations within internationally-recognized Israeli territory in the north of the country as “settlements.” He erred: “Just this morning, we count three Israeli settlements targeted by Hezbollah rockets.”
On the morning of June 14, Hezbollah launched rockets at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona and the village of Kfar Szold. They are neither in the West Bank nor in the Israeli Golan Heights (which Syria claims but which the United States recognizes as Israeli).
Neither Kiryat Shmona nor Kfar Szold is a “settlement,” which refers to Israeli communities over the Green Line in the disputed West Bank.
Kfar Szold was founded in the early 1940s, even before the State of Israel, and Kiryat Shmona was founded in 1949, nearly two decades before the Six-Day War. (Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Israeli settlements were founded in the West Bank and pre-existing Jewish communities in the West Bank that were decimated during the 1948 war were re-established.)
Among the numerous media outlets which previously corrected after erroneously delegitimizing locales sitting on internationally-recognized Israeli territory as “settlements” include France24 (Arabic), BBC (Arabic, dozens of times since Oct. 7), Deutsche Welle (Arabic), Reuters (Arabic), Euronews (Arabic), Agence France Presse (English), and earlier (2017), The New York Times. The mischaracterization of communities within internationally recognized Israeli territory as “settlements” is particularly a problem in Arabic discourse. It is regrettable that the falsehood has found its way into MSNBC coverage.
While MSNBC has agreed that the term “settlements” was inaccurate and should not have been used, the network has declined CAMERA’s request to broadcast a correction.
Tamar Sternthal is the director of CAMERA’s Israel Office. A version of this article previously appeared on the CAMERA website.
The post MSNBC Falsely Labeled Israeli Territory as ‘Settlements’ — But Refused On-Air Correction first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Kurdish-led SDF Say Five Members Killed During Attack by Islamic State in Syria
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Islamic State in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.
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Armed Groups Attack Security Force Personnel in Syria’s Sweida, Killing One, State TV Reports
People ride a motorcycle past a burned-out military vehicle, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March that killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.