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NPR Bends Over Backwards to Conceal the Real Reason There Isn’t a Palestinian State
“Why hasn’t there been a Palestinian state?” was the question posed in a recent segment on NPR’s flagship news show, All Things Considered.
Tasked with answering one of the thorniest questions in the Israel-Palestinian conflict was veteran journalist and NPR’s International Affairs Correspondent, Jackie Northam.
Northam’s opening statement served as a harbinger of the historical revisionism to come: “In mid-May, three European leaders took to the podium in a stand for Palestinians,” she said.
It’s mind-boggling that a respected veteran reporter could attempt to pass off such a contentious statement as journalistic observation. Is the “recognition” of a Palestinian state truly a “stand for Palestinians,” as countless other partisan hacks would have us believe?
Anyone with a basic understanding of geopolitics can see that last month’s stunt by the leaders of Spain, Ireland, and Norway is anything but a genuine effort towards peace.
First, it’s important to note that these countries haven’t so much as recognized a Palestinian state as they have conjured one.
Little thought has been given to the geographical boundaries of this new state, which, given the territorial disputes with Israel, is a rather critical point to have agreed upon.
And what about this new state’s governance? Will Hamas or the Palestinian Authority be in charge? Will there even be elections?
Second, was this a stand for Palestinians or for Hamas? It’s curious that Spain, Norway, and Ireland decided to recognize Palestinian statehood after the October 7 Hamas attacks, not before. If it looks like a reward for the October 7 massacre, that’s because it is.
Northam then describes how the Palestinian fight for statehood dates back over 75 years, mentioning the Palestinian rejection and Jewish acceptance of the UN Partition Plan that would have created an independent Palestinian state alongside a Jewish one.
But what follows is a masterclass in historical fiction, rewriting facts to promote a completely false narrative.
She claims “fighting began in 1947 and again the following year,” before “Arab states came to the Palestinians’ aid.”
So, according to NPR, a coalition of surrounding Arab states attempting to use their superior military might to annihilate the fledgling Jewish state is “coming to the Palestinians’ aid.”
She then fast-forwards to immediately after the 1967 war, suggesting it was almost used as a pretext for an Israeli land grab, because “settlers snatched more land, and for decades, the effort to create a Palestinian homeland faded.”
According to Northam, this bleak situation persisted until the 1990s, when the Oslo Accords brought a “glimmer of hope.”
To provide his “expert” opinion on this chapter of Israeli-Palestinian history, NPR invites Yousef Munayyer, the Executive Director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, who has previously advocated for the dissolution of the Jewish state as a solution to the conflict (not that NPR listeners would ever be clued into that little detail).
Munayyer dismisses the statehood proposals by the government under former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as nothing more than “glorified autonomy for the Palestinians.”
It’s an act of journalistic malfeasance to mention both Yasser Arafat and the Oslo Accords without informing listeners about the Second Intifada or, indeed, Palestinian terrorism altogether.
Arafat turned down the plan that would have established a Palestinian state and instead launched a campaign of suicide bombings, stabbings, and rock attacks. This was a campaign of terrorism by Palestinians aimed at ordinary Israelis — women, men, and children –much like the October 7 massacre.
NPR’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has, as we have previously highlighted, plumbed new depths of bias and journalistic ineptitude. NPR’s latest offering on the elusiveness of Palestinian statehood is, unfortunately, no different.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post NPR Bends Over Backwards to Conceal the Real Reason There Isn’t a Palestinian State first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.