Battle flares over public opinion
Beyond the boom of Israeli airstrikes and the stream of rockets fired from Gaza, Israel and Hamas are also battling to control the message emanating from this latest Israeli-Palestinian conflagration.
Using videos, Twitter, text messages, leaflets and phone calls, both sides have attempted to direct the tone of the fighting - for their own public, their opponent's population and for a global audience. Propaganda and psychological warfare are nothing new in battle, but technology and social media have increased the ability of each side to penetrate their intended audiences.
Each side has sought to tip the moral scale in its favor. Israel has tried to make its case that it is defending its citizens from unprovoked attacks but taking steps to avoid civilian casualties. Hamas has appealed by pointing to the high civilian death toll from Israel's onslaught on Gaza.
In phone calls that the Israeli military makes to Gazans to tell them to evacuate their homes before a strike, the recorded script in Arabic also tells them that Hamas is using them as human shields.
Hamas, in turn, has sent text messages to Israelis, warning them that the group will continue firing rockets at them until its demands - such as the end of the blockade of the tiny Gaza Strip - are met.
"This is a war over public opinion," said Yuval Dror, an expert in digital communications. "It's an inseparable part of battle in the modern age."
AP
(China Daily 07/24/2014 page12)
