Jewish Chronicle retracts allegedly fabricated articles on Gaza

The Jewish Chronicle (JC) has removed a series of articles alleged to contain fabricated quotes from Israeli officials, prompting an investigation by the military.

The outlet, which is the oldest Jewish news source in the UK, had published several articles by a reporter named Elon Perry.

One of the articles claimed the discovery of a document from Gaza, allegedly detailing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s plans to escape with Israeli hostages taken during the 7 October attack, using the Philadelphi Corridor as a route to Iran.

However, the Israeli army stated that it had no knowledge of such a document and several Israeli outlets began to question Perry’s identity and professional background.

The left-leaning +972 Magazine questioned his claims of having served as a commando during Operation Entebbe and being a professor at Tel Aviv University for 15 years, as there appear to be no records confirming these assertions.

Given the similarity between Perry’s claims and statements made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, some have speculated that this could be part of a broader disinformation campaign.

Despite the mounting controversy, the JC initially chose not to remove the articles from its website. 

However, on Saturday, the outlet reversed course.

“While we understand he did serve in the Israel Defense Force, we were not satisfied with some of his claims,” the outlet said in a statement, without further explanation.

“We have therefore removed his stories from our website and ended any association with Mr Perry.”

The outlet reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the “highest journalistic standards in a highly contested information landscape”, saying: “We deeply regret the chain of events that led to this point.”

“We apologise to our loyal readers and have reviewed our internal processes so that this will not be repeated.”

Last week, the Israeli army announced it was conducting an internal investigation after forged documents, allegedly retrieved from the Gaza Strip, were leaked to foreign media in a bid to shape public opinion on hostage negotiations, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

German newspaper Bild reported that a Hamas document found on the computer of leader Yahya Sinwar outlined the group’s tactics to pressure Israel and delay talks.

The document’s contents closely mirrored talking points made by Netanyahu in recent interviews and press briefings.