Embassy Crashers

One of the lead headlines on CNN's homepage reads, "Israeli Police Storm UK Embassy." That sounds pretty bad. After all, as any fan of "24" knows, embassies are sovereign territory. Sending forces into an embassy has the same legal effect as sending forces across a border into another nation. The article then explains that the commandos entered the embassy to capture an armed Palestinian who scaled a fence to enter the grounds so that he could forcibly demand asylum. The same story on Fox News also paints the same picture, although the headline on the homepage does indicate that the man the commandos nabbed was armed.

A crime occurring inside an embassy does not provide a legal basis for the police to enter the premises. The CNN article, and certainly the headline, give the impression that Israel committed a major violation of international law. What CNN and Fox omitted from the story is one very significant fact that the Jerusalem Post fortunately reports-the British government provided Israel with the consent to enter the premises and to handle the situation, which it did, by the way, with no injuries or fatalities, thank God. In other words, Israel did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, some people will assume the contrary because that's the narrative they receive.