Reports in the Palestinian media about Israel’s scheming and plotting in Jerusalem give the idea that every Israeli, young and old, settler and leftist, is busy conspiring to blow up the Al-Aqsa Mosque and wipe out all the Arabs in the city. On the other side, the Israeli media sends the message that every Palestinian driver is a potential vehicular terrorist until proven otherwise. Rumors become headlines and unconfirmed suspicions are translated into “facts.” All is fair in the propaganda war, the race for victimization and the incitement contest.
The Palestinian media coverage of the Nov. 18 terrorist attack at the synagogue in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood has provided more fuel for the fire that threatens to burn every corner of Jerusalem and spread throughout the region.