There is another side to this story, said former CNN correspondent Linda Scherzer, in a speech to the annual convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington. The grim television images, she said, give a distorted picture of what occurred.
"There was fierce resistance. There were laboratories of destruction in Jenin. It was a breeding ground for terrorism," she said. "Suicide bombers were sent directly into Israel from that camp. Much of the devastation was caused by the booby-trapped buildings. But unfortunately, those pictures are so powerful and create such an impression that I often feel that the world forms its opinions by what it sees, not necessarily by what it hears." Linda Scherzer said television does not cover the plotting of the Palestinian terrorists. So they escape media scrutiny.
In an address by satellite to the AIPAC convention, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also emphasized the threat that Jenin and other West Bank areas posed to Israel:
"We discovered illegal weapons, bomb factories and arrested many wanted terrorists. We dismantled the infrastructure of suicide bombers, thereby saving the lives of many Israelis," he said. "Operation Defensive Shield has opened a window of opportunity to put the peace back on a different, more realistic track."
The surviving Palestinians of Jenin do not talk of peace with Israel. One man points to an eight-year-old boy with hurt in his eyes. "He saw all this evil. He will remember it all."
By: Ed Warner
Copyright 2000 VOA News.
This news item is distributed via Middle East News Online: http://www.middleeastwire.com
All rights reserved. May not be redistributed, published or used for broadcast without prior written authorization from Middle East News Online.
"There was fierce resistance. There were laboratories of destruction in Jenin. It was a breeding ground for terrorism," she said. "Suicide bombers were sent directly into Israel from that camp. Much of the devastation was caused by the booby-trapped buildings. But unfortunately, those pictures are so powerful and create such an impression that I often feel that the world forms its opinions by what it sees, not necessarily by what it hears." Linda Scherzer said television does not cover the plotting of the Palestinian terrorists. So they escape media scrutiny.
In an address by satellite to the AIPAC convention, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also emphasized the threat that Jenin and other West Bank areas posed to Israel:
"We discovered illegal weapons, bomb factories and arrested many wanted terrorists. We dismantled the infrastructure of suicide bombers, thereby saving the lives of many Israelis," he said. "Operation Defensive Shield has opened a window of opportunity to put the peace back on a different, more realistic track."
The surviving Palestinians of Jenin do not talk of peace with Israel. One man points to an eight-year-old boy with hurt in his eyes. "He saw all this evil. He will remember it all."
By: Ed Warner
Copyright 2000 VOA News.
This news item is distributed via Middle East News Online: http://www.middleeastwire.com
All rights reserved. May not be redistributed, published or used for broadcast without prior written authorization from Middle East News Online.