Ross Kemp Middle East: Gaza - Part 1 Broadcast Monday 4th January 2010

Ross Kemp Middle East

After watching part 1 of Ross Kemp's 2 part special on Gaza, here are the stats or word count on frequent use of key words/phrases vis a vis the Palestinians during the episode.

Terrorist/Terrorism - 4
Militant - 9
Fundamentalist - 1
Extremist/Extremism - 3
References to destroying Israel - 2
Islam/Islamic/Jihad - 7
Israeli Blockade - 3

The first 2 minutes of the episode were actually the most interesting for me. It featured snippets of what's to come in the 2 part special including clips from episode 2. It featured a short clip of Kemp standing with an Israeli family mourning a loved one in a cemetry, it featured Kemp on patrol with the Israeli Occupation Force wiping away his tears as a Palestinian boy threw back a tear gas cannister which the Israelis fired at him & other protestors.

The images portrayed of the Palestinians were the stereotypical stone hurling youth covering their faces with scarves i.e. troublemakers. This for me set my expectations of this episode.

One of the things that stood out during Kemp's introduction to Hamas was the inaccurate claim that

"In 2006 the people of Gaza shocked the World by electing Hamas as their rulers"

This incorrect statement misleads viewers by giving them the impression that the elections took place in Gaza only, whereas the reality is that Hamas swept to power as a result of elections in the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories i.e. West Bank and Gaza.

One of the positive things to come out was the depiction of the widespread devastation caused by the Israeli Occupation Forces and Kemp's acknowledgement of the devastation, he stated that;
"everywhere I look I see destruction...(I'm) not used to seeing that amount of damage being done in such a highly populated area, it's quite shocking"

Another positive was a recognition of Israeli use of White Phosphorous although the part about it being illegal to use against civilians was omitted.

"In December 2008 after a 10 month ceasfire Israel launched a massive military campaign in Gaza...including the controversial use of Whits Phosphorous shells"
Kemp commented on the stats of Israel's war against Gaza e.g.

• 13 Israeli soldiers killed
• 1,300 Palestinians killed
• 80 Government buildings
• Over 200 Schools
• 60,000 homes destroyed
• 20,000 homeless
• Israel along with Hamas facing charge of committing war crimes

Kemp then interviewed a man whose house was destroyed. The Palestinian man stated that he has no grievance with the people of Israel and recalls how he used to work and eat with them before the war.

This interview helped to highlight the tragic humanitarian aftermath of Israel's war.

Kemp presented some statistics about Palestinian rocket fire into Israel claiming that;

"Since 2008, 1,750 rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel"

Kemp then went on to meet a Palestinian group that claimed responsibility for some of the rockets. A controversial part was when Kemp allegedly observed a real bomb being planted as part of a booby trap for any Israeli incursion into Gaza by the Sea.

This was presented with a very strong display of emotion stating that he was not happy being there and showing it on camera but describing it as a "...brutal fact of what goes on here..."

It was interesting to note the absence of any such emotion when he interviewed the homeless Palestinian family.

Kemp then went on to examine the Israeli blockade, which was only referred to 3 times during the whole show. He wanted to see how Gazans got on with their lives and whilst walking through a market commented that;

"If you knew this place was under siege, you wouldn't think it by looking around me"

Whilst initially it felt as though there was an attempt to dismiss any notion of mass suffering as a result of the Israeli bloackade, the source for the goods present in the market was attributed to smuggling. It was also noted that the mark up on these goods was 400% and beyond the reach of ordinary Palestinians in Gaza.

Smuggling was described as "state sanctioned smuggling" as viewers were told that every tunnel pays a tax to Hamas to stay open. Whilst this is true, it should have been highlighted that the smuggling is the only means of getting goods into Gaza and is a direct result of the blockade.

The next section, which looked at the tunnel workers, was presented very sympathetically. The viewers were shown the life threatening conditions in which the tunnel workers have to work for $25 a day, Kemp also commented that many die from tunnel collapses.

The following acknowledgment from Kemp was a much needed recognition that needed to be spelt out for the viewers

"The combination of the borders being closed and the massive destruction of homes and infrastructure is bringing the people of Gaza to their knees"
Kemp then interviewed John Ging, Head of the UN mission in Gaza.

Mr Ging commented that Israel didn't destroy the "infrastructure of terror" when it launched its war on Gaza as it originally stated but actually detroyed the infrastructure of the economy (factories), education (schools), peace (Government ministries) and democracy (parliament building.
"Society here in every aspect of its functioning is being broken down...You treat people as hostile and they will become hostile...(questions need to be asked) how could you do this and then believe that that is positive in terms of getting...peace in the Middle East"

Mr Ging commented that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is bigger i.e. all the people who had jobs previously are now queuing for food at UN centres as a result of factories being destroyed by the Israelis or business drying up because of the Israeli blockade.

Featuring these comments from Mr Ging was commendable as it helped to dispel the humanitarian spin that the Israeli PR machine attempts to put on its actions.

The final part of the episode was no doubt most controversial as Ross Kemp was taken to meet a a suicide bomber.

This was accompanies by eerie music, which at times drowned out the dialogue and the creation of a solemn atmosphere. All this served to set the very dark mood for what was about to follow. Again it was notable that no such theatrics were employed when looking at the civilian stories of Gaza.

The clip featured Kemp talking to the suicide bomber in which he revealed that he was a Law Graduate and wanted peace but that Israelis, through their actions, didn't want peace hence he'd chosen this path.

The closing comments of Kemp to this episode are worth recalling;
"...I defy anyone to come here without an agenda, and not feel genuine sympathy for the ordinary people living here. Hundreds of Israelis have been killed by suicide bombers and they certainly have the right to defend themselves. But the economic blockade has not only damaged business it's denied people their dignity. If you deny someone the right to provide for their family then they will find pride in other things. When a young lawyer decides to become a suicide bomber I have real fear for the future..."

Overall the episode did show the real horror faced by the people of Gaza as well as the widespread destruction caused by the Israelis. A human face of the Palestinian suffering was portrayed and for that the episode definitely deserves praise.

However there were instances of inaccurate statements, theatrics and inconsistent use of strong emotive statements which let the episode down.

If I were to sum up I'd say it was a step in the right direction for Sky but still lots to do in terms of being worthy of an impartial tag. A rating can't be given at this time because the real test will come when episode 2 of this series is broadcast. That episode will look at the Israeli side and it's against this that episode 1 will be measured to see the differences in language, tone, underlying message etc.

Episode 2 will be broadcast on 10th January.

Verdict: To be confirmed