On 31 October 2008, the Guardian published a letter on Syria by Arab Media Watch chairman Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi.

In an otherwise commendable piece, your leader (October 28) refers to Israel bombing "a nuclear reactor under construction in the desert" in Syria. This is mistakenly written as fact. Israel's claim of bombing a nuclear reactor has never been proved. Your analyst, Simon Tisdall, took this into account, describing the target as "a supposed nuclear facility", though in this case too, Syria's denial was absent (Syria: US goes it alone again, October 27). It is imperative that the claims and counter-claims that currently abound do not get confused for facts.

Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi
Chairman, Arab Media Watch

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/oct/31/1