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Media outlets in the United States should refrain from releasing false information about the conflict between Israel and Palestine if they want a peaceful solution to be found, a legal expert said on Wednesday.

Nizam Bashir bin Abdul Kariem Bashier, from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalize War, told a UN conference in Jakarta that the US media often failed to provide balanced reporting, particularly in choosing the correct terms to describe the current situation in the Middle East.    

“The media does not accurately describe the reality in Palestine,” he said.

Bashir was speaking at a United Nations Public Forum in Support of the Palestinian People.

Media, particularly in the United States, he said, repeatedly referred to the occupied areas in Palestine as “disputed territories,” implying that Israel had a valid claim over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

He cited a January article by The New York Times, which stated that Israel had strived not to injure Palestine’s civilians.

“How can anyone say that, when in reality, the number of Palestinian deaths is ten times bigger than that of Israel’s?” he said, adding that the report should have included extensive research due to the conflict’s sensitivity.

Bashir also referred to the wall that separated Israel and Palestine. The media, he said, often sided with Israel’s reasoning that it was built because of security concerns.

“The International Court of Justice has specifically stated that the wall cannot be justified as part of the requirements for national security,” he said.

Bashir said that a national media watchdog in the United States had referred to the media bias as “a fear of appearing anti-Israel,” and that they needed to strive for greater impartiality.

Gershon Baskin, co-chairman of the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information, said that in order to attain peace between the two parties, a UN Security Council resolution should be drawn up to deal with the current situation.

“We need a change in vision to achieve peace in Palestine and Israel,” he said, adding that initiatives were urgently required to avoid having the process slowed down in further endless negotiations.

The conference was attended by delegates from 22 countries. Its recommendations will be taken to the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.