Two Palestinian terrorists killed four people and wounded six others after opening fire at a popular open-air shopping and restaurant area of central Tel Aviv on Wednesday night.
We take a look at how the UK’s main news channels have responded to the attack. Why does our media avoid the word terrorism?
SkyNews
The headline by SkyNews describes the terror attack as a “mass shooting”. It also avoids using the word “Terrorism” except when quoting Israeli police. In a social media age where headlines matter, the failure by SkyNews could lead some to think the attack was a random shooting not related to Palestinian terror.
BBC
Although the BBC has a similar obsession with avoiding the word “Terrorism”, its initial report was otherwise an accurate representation of the events. However, by Thursday morning the main story about the attack carried the headline “Palestinian permits frozen after attack“, later changed to “Tel Aviv shooting: Israel suspends Palestinian permits“. Unless you happened to check the BBCNews at 1am, the main story covering the attack in the BBC headlines by the morning was about Israel’s suspension of Palestinian permits, which Israeli authorities have implemented as part of enhanced security measures following the attack.
Channel4 News
No coverage
Yes, Channel 4 News website has no article on the terror attack. Not even a mention.
ITVNews
ITV News has provided by far the most comprehensive coverage of the attack in a timeline of articles, covering the initial attack; suspension of permits, PM Netanyahu’s condemnation and reports about the naming of victims. Well done ITV.
Christians United for Israel UK