The AP editors made an interesting change in a story yesterday. Note the difference.
The first version:
Hezbollah warns Israel against ‘stealing’ gas
Hezbollah’s leader is warning Israel against “stealing” Lebanon’s natural oil and gas resources.A dispute is building between the two arch enemies over their maritime border and huge natural gas and oil reserves beneath the sea.
The leader of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group on Tuesday warned Israel against trying to steal Lebanon’s maritime resources and said it would retaliate against any Israeli attack on the country’s oil and gas installations.
Lebanon has submitted its own sea boundary proposal to the U.N., and Israel’s government earlier this month approved a conflicting proposal that it sent to the world body.
Lebanon called it a violation of international laws and the country’s sovereignty.
Now the update:
Hezbollah warns Israel against ‘stealing’ gas
The leader of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group on Tuesday warned Israel against trying to steal Lebanon’s maritime resources and said it would retaliate against any Israeli attack on the country’s oil and gas installations.A dispute is building between the two rival nations over their maritime border and huge natural gas and oil reserves beneath the Mediterranean Sea. The countries are longtime enemies and do not have diplomatic relations.
Lebanon has submitted its own sea boundary proposal to the United Nations, and the Israeli government earlier this month approved a conflicting proposal that it also sent to the world body. Lebanon called the Israeli proposal a violation of international law and Lebanese sovereignty.
It’s interesting that they toned down and explained the “arch enemy” language, but in the end, it matters very little. Note that the angle is almost exclusively from the Lebanese point of view, leading the reader to believe that Israel is, indeed, trying to steal Lebanese gas fields. There is not a single reference to an earlier piece of information, which even the AP noted that Israel’s Leviathan fields are not in contention at all.
I have to admit, the AP just plain sucks. Anti-Israel bias? Yeah, they’ve got that.