I’m telling you, someone over there is reading my blog. The updated story has fixed some of the more egregiously slanted bits. They’ve made the lede far more objective, identified the Israeli victims as civilians, and lowered the anti-Israel rhetoric a bit.

Apr 9, 3:16 PM (ET)
By DIAA HADID
Gaza Gunmen Kill 2 in Southern Israel
NAHAL OZ, Israel (AP) - Militants from the Gaza Strip slipped across the border and opened fire at a fuel depot in southern Israel on Wednesday, killing two Israeli civilians in a brazen daylight raid that threatened to set off heavy combat after a monthlong lull.

The Israeli government held Gaza’s Hamas rulers responsible for the attack and sent tanks, troops and aircraft into the Palestinian territory. At least nine Palestinians died during the day, including two at the depot and seven in Gaza.

I’m going to have to start checking my logs. I’m curious to know if they really are reading me. Here’s hoping. Because all I ever ask for is fairness in their Middle East reporting. Not that they’re fair, yet. But at least they’re less obviously slanted against Israel. And this is interesting—it wasn’t included in the earlier version of this story.

Though not directly involved in the fuel depot raid, Hamas has maintained a firm grip on power since violently taking over Gaza and most likely could have prevented Wednesday’s attack. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, praised the attack as “heroic and courageous.”

Hamas could have its reasons for seeking a resumption of hostilities. It has expressed impatience with Egypt’s failure to forge a cease-fire and repeatedly accuses the world of ignoring the plight of Gazans. A new round of fighting would draw attention to Gaza.

Yep. I have to check my logs.

The AP editors spin the attack on Israel as—wait for it—retaliatory strikes by Israel. Watch as the editors change the story’s angle in as little as two hours. First version:

Apr 9, 11:03 AM (ET)
By YANIV ZOHAR
Palestinian Attack Kills 2 Israelis
NAHAL OZ, Israel (AP) - Palestinian militants burst into southern Israel and killed two Israeli fuel terminal workers Wednesday in a surprise attack that threatened to set off wider fighting.

Israel rushed forces and tanks across the border into the northern Gaza Strip after the raid. Palestinian officials said four people were killed in tank shelling and an Israeli airstrike on a car carrying militants near Gaza City.

The later version:

Apr 9, 12:55 PM (ET)
By YANIV ZOHAR
Palestinian Attack Kills 2 Israelis
NAHAL OZ, Israel (AP) - Palestinian militants burst into southern Israel and killed two Israeli fuel terminal workers Wednesday in a surprise attack that sparked Israeli shelling and airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian officials and militant groups said six people were killed in the reprisals by Israel, which rushed troops and tanks across the border into northern Gaza after the attack.

I’m astonished that the AP actually identified the Israelis as civilians later in the stories. And that they attribute the attack to Palestinians. And that they don’t use the words “Israelis die in Palestinian attacks,” as they usually make the death of Israelis from terrorist acts passive, while any Palestinian deaths use the active voice.

But note how it’s being played: “Reprisals”—as if there’s something wrong with an army responding to an attack on her land and her people. But then, that’s the narrative. Any attack on Israel causes a counter-attack, a reprisal, or a retaliation—not an act of defense by a sovereign nation, defending itself from armed terrorists. And if you’d like to find out why the AP does what it does, take a look at this insider’s view of decision-making on a mainstream newspaper. It speaks volumes.

The story of Max. It’s four and a half minutes long, and it’s hilarious.

Via Gerard Vanderleun, with whom I shared Chinese food in San Diego a few years back.

Merci, Max.

Terrorists from Gaza killed two workers who supply Gazans with fuel, and set the tanks on fire.

Two Israeli men in their 30s were killed Wednesday afternoon in exchanges of fire that erupted near the Nahal Oz fuel terminal in the central Gaza Strip, the Magen David Adom emergency services reported. Medical teams were making their way to the scene of the incident.

It was another attempt to kidnap Israelis. Just as Hamas warned.

IDF officials estimated that during the incident in Nahal Oz, three-to-five gunmen infiltrated the fuel terminal, hit the two Israelis and fled back into the Strip. According to the army, the terror cell set out to abduct soldiers in the area. Simultaneously, a large number of mortar shells were fired at the area.

The mortar barrage is still going on.

And Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party was right in the middle of the attack.

According to the source, the gunmen were affiliated with the Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees’ the Salah al-Din Brigades, and Fatah’s Mujahideen fighters of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. The source further said the fight “will go on until the last bullet.”

As usual, Hamas is using the Palestinians to exacerbate the Gaza problem and try to make the world blame Israel for all of Gaza’s ills. If Israel stops sending fuel to the Palestinians, the world will not say, “Well, gee, yeah, they just tried to blow up the fuel depot that supplies them.” No, the world will blame Israel for not supplying them with fuel—no matter what.

The terror attack in Nahal Oz was “aimed at creating a crisis in Gaza that will be directed at Israel,” said commander of the District Coordination Office at Erez crossing Colonel Nir Peres Wednesday.

Peres said that in recent days the Palestinian have stopped transferring fuel from the crossings, but have blamed Israel for the shortage in supplies.

In the meantime, Israel will be blamed.

It was unclear how much damage, if any, was done to the fuel depot at the crossing. Even if no serious damage was caused, the raid could prompt Israel to block, on security grounds, future deliveries and force the power plant to shut down.

[...] “This a cynical attack,” an official added. “On the one hand, Hamas complains of the blockade on Gaza, and on the other hand it is responsible for the attack on the fuel terminal, which provides gas and fuel to the residents of the Strip,” he stated.

Watch for the spin in the news services.

Remember, folks, he’s not anti-Israel. He’s anti-Zionist. But the former president is going to meet with the head of a terrorist organization who last spring promised to continue its war against Israel.

“Hamas will not back down. We will not give up on a single metre of our homeland,” Meshaal said to thunderous applause.

“We will and we must continue in the path of resistance,” he added.

Then there’s this one from mid-December:

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.

And then there’s the most recent news, where Hamas openly admits that it regularly sends men to Iran for training, and receives weapons and materiel from their Iranian masters.

A senior commander interviewed by The Sunday Times said 300 of the group’s “best brains” had been secretly sent to Tehran.

Half are still being trained by Revolutionary Guards. They are learning how to make explosives from everyday items and produce deadlier rockets.

The rest have already returned from a Revolutionary Guard base in Tehran. Some have been trained as snipers. Others have learnt to use tunnels in attacks on Israeli forces.

“Iran is our mother,” the commander said. “She gives us information, military supplies and financial support.”

Seven separate groups of Hamas militants have spent up to six months in Tehran since the training began in 2005.

Now, does any of this have any effect at all on the man whose premier accomplishment as president was paving the way for the Republican landslides of the 1980s?

Nope. He’s going to talk to, and thereby give unwarranted legitimacy, to the head of Hamas:

Former President Jimmy Carter is reportedly preparing an unprecedented meeting with the leader of Hamas, an organization that the U.S. government considers one of the leading terrorist threats in the world.

The Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Tuesday that Carter was planning a trip to Syria for mid-April, during which he would meet with Khaled Meshal, the exiled head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, on April 18.

Deanna Congileo, Carter’s press secretary, confirmed in an e-mail to FOXNews.com that Carter will be in the Mideast in April. Pressed for comment, Congileo did not deny that the former president is considering visiting Meshal.

“President Carter is planning a trip to the Mideast next week; however, we are still confirming details of the trip and will issue a press release by the end of this week,” wrote Congileo. “I cannot confirm any specific meetings at this point in time.”

In other words, yep, he’s going to meet with the bastard.

Help me, readers. I need to make some kind of penance for voting for Carter in ‘76. Okay, Ford took New Jersey (where I lived at the time), but I am still guilty of the sin of foolishly thinking Carter would be a decent president. I plead the ignorance of youth, but still—I think I need to do something to make up for voting for him. Does voting for W. in 2004 count?

via memeorandumForeign Ministry opens Sderot bureau / Neta Sela

The group will be taken to view Sderot and Israel’s ‘narrow waistline’ by helicopter in an effort to convey the true meaning of a return to the borders of June 4th 1967. The guests are also scheduled to visit with the top negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, Saeb Erekat and may also meet Prime Minister Ehud Olmert or Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni.”We are looking forward to an informative and educational trip,” said National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) Executive Director Ira Forman, director of research for the Solomon Project Research.

“It is important that progressive bloggers and leaders of progressive organizations learn first-hand about the current situation in Israel. We also want to provide them with an eye-opening experience that will help them better understand the complexity of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Among those participating in the tour are Daily Kos editor David Waldman and former Moveon.org lobbyist Tom Matzzie, who currently heads the anti-war ‘Campaign to Defend America.’

LGF doesn’t hold out much hope:

And wouldn’t it be wonderful if unicorns from space cured the common cold?

I checked out the link to the Daily KOS editor, David Waldman (or Kagro X) and he didn’t seem to address Israel at all. Maybe he was chosen because he hasn’t displayed any antipathy towards Israel.

The Moderate Voice.Jill Miller Zimon writes:

I haven’t written much about this, but I will be traveling to Israel for two weeks later this year. What saddens me is that the government of Israel thinks that a visit to Israel might be able to accomplish what none of us who have tried to be reasonable on sites such as Daily Kos about Israel have been able to accomplish.

That assumes that the impetus of the trip came from Israel. But the article reports that the Solomon Project organized the trip. (From what I can tell, the Solomon Project appears to be related to the NJDC. It’s not just because Ira Forman is involved with both organizations. The Solomon Project’s analysis of the 2004 Jewish vote was done, in part, by Stanley Greenberg’s polling firm.)

Ira Forman and the NJDC have a problem. Even as they promote the essentially Democratic nature of the Jewish electorate, and claim that support for Israel is bi-partisan, the Democratic electorate is markedly less pro-Israel than is the Republican electorate. (h/t Mere Rhetoric)

The Democrats seem to be far less supportive of Israel than Republicans. The margin is significant - 20% (84% GOP, 64% Dem. Note that they dislike Iran and the Palestinian Authority in similar numbers). And one can argue that 64% is still very nice, a clear and unshakable majority. But imagine this: If Democrats would have been as favorable of Israel as Republicans, Israel would have been at the top of the list, second only to Canada and Britain. And here is another such nugget: “Younger adults are also more likely than those 55 and older to have favorable views of” Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Iran. They are less likely to have favorable view of Israel.

So perhaps Forman is correct to try and convince more blog reading Democrats that they ought to support Israel. I agree with the skeptics, but at least he’s trying to make a difference.

If nothing else, it serves to remind the public that not every Democrat is likely to seek out Khaled Meshaal like a certain ex-President is reported to be interested in.

The Other McCain writes (via memeorandum)

It’s impossible to find words strong enough to denounce this move by Carter. It demonstrates his indifference to who Hamas is and what Hamas does. Hamas is is an organization dedicated to the annihilation of Israel. It exists for one purpose and one purpose only: To kill Jews.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Peace Now turns 30 this year, and the AP uses the occasion to (of course) blame Israel for the failure to achieve peace.

In the square where Yitzhak Rabin was slain, Peace Now marked a bittersweet milestone Tuesday: Over the past 30 years, it has helped push the Israeli mainstream to embrace Palestinian statehood. But peace remains elusive.

The group pitched a tent in the square where the Israeli prime minister was gunned down in 1995 by an ultranationalist zealot trying to sabotage his attempt to trade land for peace with the Palestinians. Israel’s largest peace rallies also took place there.

Only a few hundred invited guests attended afternoon panel discussions, highlighting what critics say has been one of Peace Now’s biggest failings _ to reach out to working class or religious Israelis, who traditionally hold hard-line views.

Apparently, if you don’t agree with everything Peace Now wants, you are a “hardliner.” Or if you’re working class or religious, you’re a “hardliner.” So only the middle class and elite want peace? Wow, that’s some bias in this article.

The article reports about the group’s founding:

Peace Now was founded in 1978 by army reserve officers who appealed to then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin not to miss a historic opportunity for a peace deal with Egypt.

Now would be a perfect time to point out that Menachem Begin did, indeed, sign that historic peace deal with Egypt, and that today, Israel and Egypt have extremely cold relations, and that Egypt only barely keeps up its end of the bargain.

Now would also be a good time to go into the “land for peace” descriptions, and maybe point out that Israel has left Gaza completely, and yet, rockets and mortars fall on southern Israel almost every day, and terrorists are constantly trying to murder Israelis. But to point out these things would be to, I don’t know, present a balanced article.

Or perhaps the article might point out that when Peace Now protested in Hebron against the “occupation,” their people were stoned by the Palestinians as they left. Now that’s gratitude for you.

After the rally a bus filled with left-wing activists leaving Hebron came under assault as Palestinians hurled rocks at the vehicle and a police squad car traveling near it. No injuries were reported.

Oh, I’m sure the Peace Now fools justified the Palestinian anger at the colonial-settler-zealot mentality, and excused the stone-throwers for not being able to contain their anger at the “settlers”. But that’s not why the buses were stoned.

The Palestinians do not want peace. They want all Jews out of Israel, except for the few that they will determine may remain, in dhimmitude subservience to their Muslim masters.

If the Palestinians truly wanted peace, there’d have been peace already. They have turned it down each time it was offered, and offered war instead.

Polls now suggest a majority of Israelis would be willing to reach a land-for-peace deal. However, many Israelis also doubt the Palestinians could implement an agreement, in part because of the growing influence of the Islamic militant Hamas, which seeks Israel’s destruction.

Yes. Gee. Funny, that Israel is going to find it hard to reach peace with a group dedicated to destroying them. I’m not seeing how that can be a problem.

And now, cue angry-Israel-Zionist-settler quotes:

Daniella Weiss, a settler leader, denounced Peace Now activists Tuesday. “Peace Now wants to give the historic Jewish homeland away to the enemy, and that makes them back-stabbing traitors,” she said.

Israel Harel, another settler leader said, “The movement signals Israeli weakness.”

“The outcome is not peace now, it is war now, it is a war of terror and a much bigger war of terror than ever before,” he said.

And fade out.