This is a cross-post from Just Journalism.
Media covers deaths and arrests in connection with murder of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni, but omits reports that key suspect was Hamas policeman.
Today reports appear across the British media regarding the attempted arrest of three suspects in connection with the murder of Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza last week, during which at least one fatality occurred Articles appear in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, the Financial Times, The Guardian and on the BBC News website.
Although there are conflicting reports as to the number of suspects killed in the operation, which was conducted by Hamas security forces, it appears that one man threw a grenade at his fellow suspects, killing one, and then shot himself. The suspect who survived the grenade attack was arrested by Hamas, along with three of his associates. According to The Daily Telegraph, during the ‘fierce firefight’:
‘five Hamas policemen were injured as well as girl who was caught in the crossfire’.
As noted by Just Journalism this week, the British media continues to highlight the alleged ideological chasm between the Salafi-Jihadis apparently responsible for Arrigoni’s murder, and Hamas itself. Coverage of recent developments also reflects this, with The Independent’s Nidal al-Mughrabi writing that the group responsible ‘posed an unprecedented challenge to Hamas’, and that:
‘The militants were jihadist Salafists who espouse a more radical form of political Islam than Hamas and appear to be attracting recruits.’
However, there is considerable evidence that many in Hamas share the radical views of these groups, and that Salafists are attracting recruits from Hamas itself. In line with this, some media coverage is reporting that one of the suspects is alleged to be a Hamas policeman.
An AFP news article appearing on Now Lebanon names one of the men as ‘Mohammed al-Salfiti, a Hamas policeman’, and an article on the Sky News website states:
‘Hamas security officials on Sunday named three suspects they were hunting as Binal al Omari, Abdul-Rachmarn el Birizit – a Jordanian national – and Mohammed al Salfiti, himself a Hamas policeman.’
The alleged identity of one of the suspects as a Hamas police man has not featured in the majority of British coverage of the incident.
See also: Hamas in Gaza: Palestinians urged to form militant groups and kidnap Israelis
See also: Financial Times focuses on Salafi-Jihadists in Gaza
