As I said, the follow-up from AP whitewashes the Palestinians.
New headline:
Palestinians, Israelis trade rockets, airstrikes
New lede:
Israel on Tuesday launched an unusually heavy series of airstrikes on Gaza in retaliation for Palestinian rocket attacks, raising the prospect of a new round of bloody fighting after a relative lull for two years.
The military said the Israeli strikes hit seven different targets in Gaza. Palestinian officials said eight militants were wounded. Then the Palestinians fired another rocket at southern Israel, lightly wounding a 16-year-old Israeli girl.
The violence followed the deaths of five Gaza militants Saturday in the deadliest Israeli assault on the coastal strip in months, indicating a trend of escalation. Two years ago, incessant rocket barrages from Gaza led Israel to launch a punishing three-week invasion that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, including many civilians.
New analysis: Israel’s actions were “retaliation” for 13 rocket attacks over the last two days. Still left unsaid in the article is that the deaths of the five “militants” above were caused by their crowding around a bunch of rockets that they were getting ready to fire into Israel.
We also have the AP bringing up the Gaza war, the standard boilerplate that “many” (better than “hundreds of”) civilians died in the war fought to stop the rocket attacks. Also, as soon as AP mentions that Israel is now targeting Hamas, they feel the need to explain thusly:
Although Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, has limited attacks on Israel since then, Israel holds the group responsible for all attacks from the territory. A number of smaller militant groups have continued to fire rockets and mortars.
Nothing happens in Gaza without Hamas’ permission. Rival terrorist groups don’t go to the bathroom without asking Hamas first. But the fiction is duly reported by the AP, and parroted by the anti-Israel forces. And, of course, the “violence” is also inhibiting peace efforts.
The violence added to tensions in the region stemming from the impasse in peace efforts.
Cue the “It’s all Israel’s fault” AP explanation of why there is no peace.
The U.S.-backed talks have broken down over the issue of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.
Of course. Because the issue of Hamastan firing rockets into Israel on a regular basis coudn’t possibly have as much of an effect on peace talks as building new apartments in the suburbs of Jerusalem. More than 200 rockets and mortars heading into Israel in 2010? Not nearly as important.
I suppose things could be worse. There could have been a weird-ass headline like this one by Reuters:
Um—what? WTF does the one have to do with the other? Are they trying to connect the headline to this quote?
“The situation in the south is tense and fragile, and it could deteriorate if a rocket attack causes a large number of casualties,” Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, told a parliamentary committee.
Because if they are, that’s about the worst headline ever, although it ranks up among the best-ever whitewashes of Palestinian terrorism against Israel. Get it? the “Gaza risks” are that if the terrorists don’t stop firing rockets, and one lands and hurts or kills a large number of Israelis, the risk is that Israel will invade Gaza again. At least, that’s all I’ve got. Anyone have any better ideas?
Actually, few actions would improve the “Peace Process” more than if Israel went into Gaza again and killed every member of Hamas there, then enforced a settlement on the remaining Arabs that ensured no more attacks from Gaza into Israel. It would get rid of Hamas and scare the crap out of Abbas and his consiglieri. The Israelis ought to have done that in Cast Lead, but didn’t.