Western media’s passive dehumanization of Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank, which the International Court of Justice ruled could amount to genocide, suppresses public understanding of the scale of Palestinian suffering and provides cover for Israel to keep committing crimes. In this instance, the Associated Press goes to great lengths to avoid mentioning that the detainee was a hostage held for half a year without charge, and that it would be much simpler to say ‘child’ than do mental gymnastics with ‘detainee under 18’.
In this regard Western media has proved to be another arm of the Western states responsible for enabling Israel’s onslaught against Palestinians. The US, Italy and Germany are Israel’s biggest arms suppliers. Diplomatically the US and UK have vetoed ceasefire resolutions at the UN. Israel’s breaking of the January ceasefire received implicit support from Washington, as Tel Aviv had informed them of the plans beforehand.
Western media has proven to be more empathetic when White populations are under bombardment in comparison, as coverage of the ongoing Ukraine – Russia conflict indicates.
Sources
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kyiv-attack-33aecd50cf252ff6184c0c14f90588b5