Huffington Post Makes Up Facts

The Huffington Post has come out with it's most recent anti-Israel news article, provocatively headlined Israel Warns Palestine Not to Declare State. While it is not linked to any other website, it claims a Ynet article as its source. Naturally, the headline was like red meat to the anti-Zionists on the HP, and the article already has 600 comments. But when you actually read the article, it becomes abundantly clear the headline bears no resemblance to the truth.

First, within the body of the HP article, the truth is that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman made some remarks to Ynet about a variety of subjects, including Turkey, Obama, and the future Palestinian state. He was talking to Ynet, not the Palestinians. Therefore, to headline the article as Israel telling something to the Palestinians is misleading. Lieberman was not telling the Palestinians anything.

Second, this is what Lieberman actually said, according to the HP article.

"Lieberman warned that if Palestinians declared independence, Israel could revoke the 1990s peace agreements known as the Oslo accords or even annex parts of the West Bank.

"Any unilateral decision will release us from all of our commitments and will allow us also to make unilateral decisions," Lieberman was quoted as saying by the Ynet news Web site. "For example, imposing Israeli sovereignty on certain areas, cutting off all kinds of ties and transfers of money and a string of benefits and agreements put into place since the Oslo accords."

Again, is this warning the Palestinians not to declare a state? Not really, it's just telling them the consequences of doing so. 

Third, I'm pretty suspicious about anything the Huffington Post prints about Israel, especially when it doesn't have a linked source. So I went to Ynetnews.com, and look on the home page. The article wasn't there, which immediately indicates to me that for Israel, this is not big news. After digging through the News section, I finally found it. And you know what that article said about Lieberman's comments?

"He [Lieberman] is unmoved by the Palestinians' declarations that they plan to establish an independent state within 24 months. "Any one-sided decision will release us from all our commitments as well," he said. "It certainly won't bring a solution and peace.""

So what's Lieberman actually saying? He's saying a declaration of Palestinian statehood is not the solution and will not bring peace. This presents a very different image from the Lieberman who is threatening the Palestinians, as portrayed in the Huffington Post article. It is also nothing like the headline, at no point does Lieberman tell the Palestinians not to declare a state. The Ynet article also makes no mention of annexing parts of the West Bank or revoking the Oslo Accords, it appears the HP made that up out of whole cloth.

But trust Ariana when she says there's no anti-Israel bias on the Huffington Post.