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May 16, 2011 The Wire Extensive coverage of Nakba day border clashes Mon. 16 May 2011 @ 13.39 - Nakba day violence at Israel's Syrian and Lebanese borders, and in Palestinian territories, gets significant news coverage, with reasons for violence given differing emphasis. Today The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, the Financial Times and the BBC News website all give high-profile coverage to the violent Nakba day protests that took place on Israel's Syrian and Lebanese borders yesterday, as well as in the Palestinian territories. The clashes saw tens of thousands of protesters gather at Israel's borders and an incursion of several hundred into Israel via the Golan Heights. Approximately 12 people were killed, reportedly by Israeli fire. Meanwhile, dozens were reported injured during confrontations with Israeli security forces in Gaza and the West Bank, during the 'day of catastrophe', or Nakba day, demonstrations. While this day of violent protests garnered a high degree of press attention across the media, The Guardian was by far the most prolific news outlet to cover the story. Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian's Jerusalem correspondent, has written five pieces on the unrest so far, including one that appeared on the front page of the newspaper today. Sherwood does give a variety of perspectives from all sides of the conflict, including comment from Israel analyst Jonathan Spyer that Syria had a deliberate hand in stoking border tensions: 'There is no freedom of movement in Syria; there is no doubt that demonstrators passed through army checkpoints. There is a certain logic from [Syrian president Bashar] Assad's point of view - it's to divert attention away from what's happening domestically and remind Syrians that Israel is the real enemy. This was undoubtedly approved by the regime.' Read more>> The Wire Times caption implies Israel fired on children Mon. 16 May 2011 @ 11.33 - Photo depicts Palestinian children marching with replica guns and caption, 'Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd as it neared the crossing'. A photo gallery appearing on The Times' website depicting yesterday's turbulent events on Israel's borders carries a picture and caption (14 of 19) which implies that Israel fired on young children at Nakba day protests. The image (above right) was accompanied by the words: 'Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd as it neared the crossing' Read more>> The Wire AP describes possible Tel Aviv attack as 'traffic accident' Mon. 16 May 2011 @ 14.21 - Wire service asserts incident in Tel Aviv in which Arab truck driver caused one death and multiple injuries was 'traffic accident' and Israeli fears of a pre-meditated attack were due to Nakba 'jitters'. During the heightened tensions surrounding Sunday's Nakba day protests, which saw Palestinians across the region protest the establishment of Israel, an incident in Tel Aviv involving a truck striking multiple vehicles left one dead and 17 injured. 'Inside Israel, police were on high alert for disturbances among the country's Arab minority. In a reflection of the jitters, a deadly traffic accident involving an Arab truck driver in Tel Aviv set off fears that an attack had been carried out.' Israel news source Ynet reported: 'An eyewitness told Ynet, "A truck driver was driving like a madman. At first I though it was an accident or a driver who lost control of his vehicle, but based on the speed and insane manner in which he was driving, it was clearly an attack. It's scary that these things happen here. Read more>> The Wire Hamas in Gaza: 'All the lethal bacteria are far less dangerous than the Jews' Mon. 16 May 2011 @ 17.46 - Hamas MP argues that Jews were brought to Palestine for a 'great massacre', in order to 'relieve humanity of their evil'. Following the comments made last Wednesday by Hamas' foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, reiterating that the Islamist group would never recognise Israel, further statements by senior figures have emerged that also highlight the group's extreme ideology. The Hamas cleric Yunis Al-Astal, who is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, argued that: 'All the predators, all the birds of prey, all the dangerous reptiles and insects, and all the lethal bacteria are far less dangerous than the Jews.' Read more>>