The Reuters coverage of the Hamas rally is different from the AP coverage in several ways. Reuters uses the Hamas crowd estimate (insert eyeroll here), and puts in far more harsh quotes than the AP editors. The lede also more accurately describes the tone of the rally.

Hamas threatened to launch a new uprising against Israel on Saturday when hundreds of thousands of Islamist supporters rallied in Gaza City to mark the group’s 20th anniversary.

“Our people are capable of launching a third and a fourth intifada until the dawn of victory rises up,” said Khaled Meshaal, the group’s exiled leader, in a speech recorded on Friday at his base in Damascus.

The central square in Gaza City was awash with green flags and dozens of armed, masked men from the group’s military wing patrolled in a crowd estimated at between 300,000 and 500,000.

Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said the movement was growing more popular because of its stance against the United States and Israel.

“Today is the day of Jihad, resistance and uprising,” Haniyeh said.

Time to give Reuters points for passing along the true message of the Hamas gathering. And for using the language that should be used—Hamas did threaten Israel yesterday, and the quote on jihad should be front and center. It is a religious war for Hamas, and is stated as such in the Hamas charter, which Reuters actually acknowledges.

Founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was killed by Israel in a 2004 air strike, the group has a charter that calls for the elimination of the Jewish state.

Compare that to this description of Hamas from AP:

Hamas was founded in Gaza in December 1987, after the outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. It is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt and is seen as the mother of all fundamentalist factions in the Arab Sunni world.

Reuters also includes the money quotes:

“We will never cede our land … The choice of resistance and Jihad is the shortest way to liberate Palestine and return Jerusalem,” Haniyeh said.

Of course, I’m sure they used “al-Quds” instead of Jerusalem. And it’s true what they say: A picture is worth a thousand words.

There is no talking to Hamas. You can only defeat this enemy, not talk to it.

Hamas celebrated its twentieth anniversary by assuring Israel that Hamas will never, ever recognize the Jewish State, and also, Hamas will never stop trying to destroy it.

Large pictures of Hamas leaders, both in Gaza and in exile, were draped across the speakers’ podium. A black banner hanging from a nearby building read, in Arabic, English and French: “We will not recognize Israel.”

In the crowd were dozens of members of the Hamas military wing, among them armed men carrying replicas of home-made Qassam rockets. Some 50 female members of military wing also marched, dressed in long robes and sporting military-style ammunition vests. Some covered their faces with veils, others with ski masks. Several took to the stage, waving green Hamas flags.

In an anniversary message to Hamas TV, the group’s top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, said Hamas will not abandon violence. “This is our real choice, our trump card, which causes the enemy to succumb to us,” he said.

He said moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who controls the West Bank, does not have the mandate to negotiate with Israel. “Our people are able to launch a third and fourth uprising until the dawn of victory arrives,” he warned.

Please note that Hamas says, over and over again, that they will never recognize Israel, that they are actively working to destroy Israel and replace her with an Islamic state, and yet, people still think that Israel should talk to Hamas. Because Hamas would offer a ten-year truce, you see. And a truce is better than nothing, right?

Wrong. They want the truce to arm themselves without opposition, so they can then come after Israel with stronger, more deadly weapons and explosives.

By the way, anyone want to take a guess where in the story the information quoted above started?

It’s in the sixth paragraph. One paragraph below the longest of your local paper’s “World News” section, which generally takes 2-5 paragraphs of the AP world stories. These are the first five grafs, the ones that make it into the largest number of newspapers:

Hamas marked the 20th anniversary of its founding with a huge rally Saturday, sending a message of strength and defiance even as it is struggling to keep Gaza the Strip from sinking deeper into poverty.

Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters gathered in a sandy lot and nearby streets, waving green Islamic flags. The crowd appeared to be at least equal in size to a march last month in support of Hamas’ rival, Fatah. That rally drew 250,000 in a major challenge to Hamas.

A large turnout Saturday was seen as critical for the increasingly embattled Hamas, which seized control of Gaza by force in June. Since then, the coastal strip has been virtually cut off from the world, with Israel and Egypt sharply restricting access, and 1.5 million Gazans have been driven deeper into poverty.

“This is the real referendum on the popularity of resistance, the people converging behind Hamas,” said Zayed Herzallah, a 28-year old merchant, who brought a van full of young relatives.

Hamas was founded in Gaza in December 1987, after the outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. It is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt and is seen as the mother of all fundamentalist factions in the Arab Sunni world.

Do you see a difference in tone and content? In the lede, which will be in the majority of newspapers, Hamas is seen as the romantic, “defiant” resistance organization. The popular organization that “resists” Israeli occupation. The fact that Hamas is a terrorist group, and that “resistance” includes suicide bombings, gunning down civilians, murdering children, and sending rockets into schoolyards doesn’t appear at all. The fact that Hamas has murdered and wounded thousands of Israeli civilians since its founding is not mentioned at all. This is a puff piece on the Palestinian “resistance” movement—as if “resistance” is a legitimate struggle, just as the Palestinians have designated it. Their PR effort has paid off handsomely, as the world media continues to put murdering tyrants in the softest possible light while demonizing all Israeli reactions to the thugs.

Next up: The Reuters take on the same rally.