PUBLIC MARKS with tags israel & media

Why do I list the names of the dead before the usual talk about the geopolitical implications, the responses of shock and outrage from heads of state, the defiant statements by Hamas and Islamic Jihad? Because there are three things about the violence in Israel, or more to the point, media coverage of it, that have been bothering me of late, but especially since I've been reading more and more blogs from the people whose lives are most affected by it...

Two years after James Miller was shot dead (shot three years ago - 2 May, 2003) while making a documentary on the region (for the American cable giant HBO), his film has been honoured with three Emmy awards. Death in Gaza looks at the lives of three children at the Rafah refugee camp caught up in the cycle of violence between the Israeli army and Palestinian fighters, and documents the killing of the 34-year-old British documentary maker. Initial findings from an Israeli Occupation Forces investigation into the affair claimed that the correspondent was shot in the back, and suggested that he may have been hit by Palestinian gunfire. Another Briton who had been with Mr Miller said they were waving a white flag and moving towards an Israeli armoured vehicle when it opened fire. By chance, the team were being filmed by an agency stringer from APTN. The videotape proves that there is no crossfire. They were wearing helmets and flak jackets littered with TV signs. The Israeli army has, thanks to the Americans, some of the best night vision technology in the world. Their kit turns nights into day. James was shot in the front of his neck by an Israeli bullet and was mortally wounded. No soldier has been disciplined or charged and in court the cameraman’s family have accused Israel of a coverup, claiming there is evidence that his killer is Lieutenant Heib of the Israeli occupation force. Finaly, few days ago, and after three years of shooting James, a UK court rules that IOF shooting of the filmmaker was a deliberate cold-blooded murder.