8 thoughts on “Israelis Fire on FOX News Correspondent in Gaza?”
A few reactions. One is that I was amazed at the way the blonde dude (Dan) in the studio just casually said, in response to his colleague pointing out that this was shooting at the press, that “sometimes you just shoot at someone far away” Has he been in the military? Does he think that it’s okay to shoot from far away when you can’t tell who you’re shooting at? Or is this just trypical anchorman babbling?
Second, I’m not sure why David lee MIller thought that it was sIsraeli fire besides that there were Israeli troops nearby. If it was about where the shots came from, that wasn’t clear.
Third, the conversation at the end between the guys in the studio, with one saying “bad guys shoot at anyone” and the other saying “but it’s Israel” was just surreal. I know it’s Fox News, but are they so simplistic that they think that there’s a side in a war that always does good and a side in a war that always does bad?
Finally,. I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the headline they had at the bottom of the screen for a while: “Shots heard in Central Gaza.” Sadly, that’s not news.
What exactly makes them think the shots were being fired in their direction? From the video, all I could tell was that shots were fired somewhere nearby. Just because you hear gunshots doesn’t mean you’re the target.
Of course, if you hear the bullet fly by or see it ricochet off the ground near you, that’s a different matter.
Israel’s record regarding journalists, according to Reporters Sans Frontieres: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7662
“An earlier study by Reporters Without Borders looked at the cases of the 45 journalists who were wounded by gunfire in the Occupied Territories between September 2000 and August 2001. This major investigation focused on the repeated acts of violence against journalists and deplored the lack of enquiries and punishment following these incidents. Twelve concrete measures aimed at increasing journalists’ security were submitted at that time to the Israeli army. Reporters Without Borders warned the IDF that if it did not adopt these preventive measures, the problem could get worse and journalists could be killed. Since then, five journalists have been killed . In each case, witnesses said the army opened fire in circumstances that could not be described as legitimate self-defence. As far as Reporters Without Borders knows, none of the three deaths of journalists in 2002 was the subject of a serious investigation. The IDF has not acknowledged any responsibility in these incidents or reported that anyone was punished for them.”
As an Israeli soldier, currently in reserves, a few thoughts.
1 – Gunfire shot in your direction sounds particularly different. Being that there was nobody else around, it is a good assumption that the shots were aimed towards them.
2 – It probably was Israelis. The Palestinians generally shoot their rifles on automatic, these were single shots.
3 – The Israelis were not trying to shoot him. The reporter said that he was just over a hundred years from the Israeli troops. One hundred yards is nothing for a rifle to cover. I was in tanks, and I can easily hit a standing target from one hundred yards. Therefore, you can assume that they were not trying to hit them. Rather, what is going on? Warning shots. This is generally accepted practice both in the Israeli military and others across the world. In a big open combat zone, where it is difficult to communicate, how better to send the message to someone that they shouldn’t be where they are – you shoot in their direction. This is all strictly controlled by army regulations to be as safe as possible. Generally, you first shoot in the air, then if they still haven’t ogtten out, you shoot 50 meters to their left, then fifty meters to their right. If the people still haven’t cleared out, after repeating this procedure a few times, especially if they still keep coming towards you, you can be fairly certain that their intentions are hostile.
That would be my guess of what happenned here, and by all accounts it worked out well. The journalists got out of where the Israelis thought it dangerous (either for the Israelis, or for the journalists) to be, and nobody got hurt, even if their greenhorns got a bit shooken up.
Does anyone really need a legitimate reason to open fire on Fox News? However, I sure am glad that David Miller had a chance to boogie out of there in time.
A few reactions. One is that I was amazed at the way the blonde dude (Dan) in the studio just casually said, in response to his colleague pointing out that this was shooting at the press, that “sometimes you just shoot at someone far away” Has he been in the military? Does he think that it’s okay to shoot from far away when you can’t tell who you’re shooting at? Or is this just trypical anchorman babbling?
Second, I’m not sure why David lee MIller thought that it was sIsraeli fire besides that there were Israeli troops nearby. If it was about where the shots came from, that wasn’t clear.
Third, the conversation at the end between the guys in the studio, with one saying “bad guys shoot at anyone” and the other saying “but it’s Israel” was just surreal. I know it’s Fox News, but are they so simplistic that they think that there’s a side in a war that always does good and a side in a war that always does bad?
Finally,. I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the headline they had at the bottom of the screen for a while: “Shots heard in Central Gaza.” Sadly, that’s not news.
yah i had this up on the crier the other day. the whole thing was screwy.
…but I wanted to hear about the bad spellers…..
well i can understand shooting james miller, since he was with the anti-Semitic British media, but shooting at Fox News is in poor taste.
What exactly makes them think the shots were being fired in their direction? From the video, all I could tell was that shots were fired somewhere nearby. Just because you hear gunshots doesn’t mean you’re the target.
Of course, if you hear the bullet fly by or see it ricochet off the ground near you, that’s a different matter.
Israel’s record regarding journalists, according to Reporters Sans Frontieres: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7662
“An earlier study by Reporters Without Borders looked at the cases of the 45 journalists who were wounded by gunfire in the Occupied Territories between September 2000 and August 2001. This major investigation focused on the repeated acts of violence against journalists and deplored the lack of enquiries and punishment following these incidents. Twelve concrete measures aimed at increasing journalists’ security were submitted at that time to the Israeli army. Reporters Without Borders warned the IDF that if it did not adopt these preventive measures, the problem could get worse and journalists could be killed. Since then, five journalists have been killed . In each case, witnesses said the army opened fire in circumstances that could not be described as legitimate self-defence. As far as Reporters Without Borders knows, none of the three deaths of journalists in 2002 was the subject of a serious investigation. The IDF has not acknowledged any responsibility in these incidents or reported that anyone was punished for them.”
As an Israeli soldier, currently in reserves, a few thoughts.
1 – Gunfire shot in your direction sounds particularly different. Being that there was nobody else around, it is a good assumption that the shots were aimed towards them.
2 – It probably was Israelis. The Palestinians generally shoot their rifles on automatic, these were single shots.
3 – The Israelis were not trying to shoot him. The reporter said that he was just over a hundred years from the Israeli troops. One hundred yards is nothing for a rifle to cover. I was in tanks, and I can easily hit a standing target from one hundred yards. Therefore, you can assume that they were not trying to hit them. Rather, what is going on? Warning shots. This is generally accepted practice both in the Israeli military and others across the world. In a big open combat zone, where it is difficult to communicate, how better to send the message to someone that they shouldn’t be where they are – you shoot in their direction. This is all strictly controlled by army regulations to be as safe as possible. Generally, you first shoot in the air, then if they still haven’t ogtten out, you shoot 50 meters to their left, then fifty meters to their right. If the people still haven’t cleared out, after repeating this procedure a few times, especially if they still keep coming towards you, you can be fairly certain that their intentions are hostile.
That would be my guess of what happenned here, and by all accounts it worked out well. The journalists got out of where the Israelis thought it dangerous (either for the Israelis, or for the journalists) to be, and nobody got hurt, even if their greenhorns got a bit shooken up.
Does anyone really need a legitimate reason to open fire on Fox News? However, I sure am glad that David Miller had a chance to boogie out of there in time.