Adjudication No. 1307  (adjudicated February 2006)

The Press Council has upheld in part a complaint against The Canberra Times over a report on an incident on the Israeli-Gaza border. Three Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli troops in the incident.

The report quoted the Israeli military as saying that the Palestinians were spotted crawling towards the border fence with a bag, "apparently planning to plant a bomb".

Ali Kazak, head of the General Palestinian Delegation to Australia and New Zealand, complained that the report was "false" and "suppressed relevant facts". He submitted for publication a letter that quoted the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights as saying that the three Palestinians, including two teenagers, were seeking to cross the border to find employment. They were, it said, left for two hours bleeding to death while Israeli troops prevented an ambulance from reaching them. The letter was not published.

The Press Council cannot determine which version is correct; nor can it say whether the Palestinian version was available in any way at the time of the publication. The absence of a response from The Canberra Times to the Council leaves this question open. In these circumstances, the "false" and "suppression" aspects of the complaint fail.

The short letter from Mr Kazak, dated the day after the report, could well have been published. In fairness, the Palestinian position should have been put.

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