Thread by @sakhr

🧵 I work with some of the most talented journalists in the industry at @ajplus and they've been working non stop this month to cover Israeli aggression against Palestinians

They've been righting the wrongs of Western media one video & one tweet at a time. I want to share some:

Early on, @TaekoItabashi's video of Mona El-Kurd confronting a settler ("If I don't steal your house, someone else will") set the scene for the month that followed.

That moment felt pivotal - it showed the world what Israeli settler colonialism looked like

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1389974669072244736

@sara_salman produced a powerful film (originally commissioned and produced for @ajplusarabi by Ahmed Abdelalim) that followed Mona and her dad

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1397263422522265601

What was astonishing was that politicians and celebs in the West started openly calling Israel an apartheid state (as @btselem + @hrw did). @Dena, @malsaafin, @vicvaiana, @eileen_ivette and @mashaalmir asked whether Israel met the definition of apartheid:

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1393599302816079872?s=20

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1393599302816079872

The tide was turning against Israel's narrative. People realised this wasn't just "both sides" but a state that systemically represses another race

Many of our peers in the media hadn't got the note, as @SanaSaeed, @nicholasgarbaty & Sarah Nasr explored

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1395887296944263171?s=20

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1395887296944263171

@m7mdkurd was a victim of the media's mistreatment of Palestinians when he was asked about "violent protests". He clapped back, and we talked to him about it in this video by @ZabMustefa

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1397980924231438338?s=20

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1397980924231438338

One of the stories that made me most emotional was this film on two Israeli siblings who boycotted the army to fight apartheid. One of them went to jail.

Produced by @sara_salman, original commission and production for @ajplusfrancais by @HivaNusseibeh

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1397263422522265601?s=20

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1397600920435716098

Remember what rolling news channel discussions about Palestine look like? Not a single Palestinian on the panel.

We wanted to change that dynamic by centering Palestinians.

For example...

Mariam Afifi who smiled in the face of occupation. She asked an Israeli soldier who arrested her if this is what he dreamed of doing as a kid. By @sara_salman and @taekoitabashi

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1393521540214390788

We spent a day with Nadine, a 10-year-old who broke the world's hearts: "I'd do anything to help my people but I don't know what to do, I'm just 10."

Her life was turned upside down when Israel attacked. By @tupacsaavedra, @sarasalman, @yasser_abuwazna

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1400518714299142145

And the Palestinian mum who sleeps in the same room as her kids in case they're hit by an airstrike - so no one will have to grieve the loss of the others. By @zabmustefa

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1394355993681842182

While these Israeli attacks might seem like isolated incidents, @mariambarghouti told me about the nature of occupation and colonialism in Palestine. Produced by @zabmustefa

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1392166361103691776

@maravanells's story about a Palestinian and Jewish activist who made a statement about refugee rights over decades with a photo (intv with @ghadakarmi by @TaekoItabashi)

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1397394561861754884

A Palestinian teenager who was the focus of @matthewcassel's film was shot dead. @ajplus news vid by @themoedee

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1395162351943491586

And we shone a light on Israeli aggression, and those standing up to it:

A group of pro-Palestinian protesters shut down a UK weapons factory thought to be sending drones to Israel. The fire brigade showed up and refused to remove the protesters, with the union saying they stood with the Palestinian people. By @zabmustefa

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1397649993771724801

A number of celebrities spoke out against Israel's attacks. Others self-censored, and their fans weren't having any of that. By @HangdaZhang
instagram.com/p/CO_XDdMBVMO/…

Israel has repeatedly targetted journalists, as it tries to stop the world seeing its war crimes.

Al Jazeera itself came under attack when the Israeli army deliberately targeted a media building that housed the @ap and Al Jazeera. By @taekoitabashi

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1393967730508718080

@ilianahagenah's story on Israeli mobs attacking Palestinians in Israel, while the government defended them as "law abiding", added to the growing body of evidence that Israel is an apartheid state

https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1392977962170036224

None of this would be possible without the world-class twitter team of @abbyrogers, @thekareem, @dannadano and Sami Fuller

There are countless more stories, too many to list, that all deserve your attention. Thank you to my relentless colleagues. I am in awe.