IDF proposes wartime curbs on media casualty reports

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Brigadier General Avi Benayahu proposed Wednesday that during a period defined as wartime, his unit would provide reports to the public at specific times detailing military and civilian casualties.

Benayahu was speaking at a meeting he had requested with the Israel Press Council and the Israeli media Wednesday to discuss an IDF request for a change in the way the media reports the deaths of soldiers in battle or mass-casualty accidents.

The IDF said media reports on the number of deaths during the Second Lebanon War had affected its conduct as well as the mood of the public.

The meeting was moderated by Israel Press Council chair retired justice Dalia Dorner.

The army's human resources chief, Major General Elazar Stern, attended the meeting, as was his chief of operations, Brigadier General Avi Zamir, who is scheduled to replace Stern in a few weeks.

The head of the Israel Police Spokesman's department, Chief Superintendent Michal Haim, complained that when traffic police officer Yigal Cohen was run over last month, the media reported it before the family was officially informed.

With regard to media coverage of the Hezbollah's return to Israel of the remains of soldiers last month Stern said he attended their burial and that "it was not the first time since the Second Lebanon War that the IDF opened graves." Stern also said that the letter received recently by the family of abducted soldier Gilad Shalit had been dictated by his captors and that its publication "served the other side."

Benayahu said new behavior patterns could be created in cooperation with the media and the chief military censor as a reasonable alternative to legislating limitations on reporting.

The parties agreed to pursue the discussion at a later date.