See, here’s what I’m talking about. Here’s the headline:
Israeli, Palestinian Shooting Kills 1
And here’s the lede:
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – A Palestinian gunman was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops Wednesday in an area where militants frequently fire rockets toward Israel, Palestinian security officials said.
Clearly, it was a terrorist who was killed, and the headline says only that “1” was killed. Let’s look at the next few paragraphs.
The Israeli army confirmed the clash, saying troops hit at least two gunmen, but did not know their condition.
Soldiers entered Gaza after seeing three militants plant a bomb near the fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip, the army said. Troops opened fire at the gunmen, hitting at least two, and the militants detonated two explosives in the exchange, the army said.
Palestinian security officials said troops entered the northern Gaza Strip and killed a Palestinian gunman, injured another, and arrested a third. It was not immediately clear to which militant group the three men belonged.
Now we start quoting Palestinian spokesmen, who are generally members of the terrorist group that was just doing the shooting/bomb-planting/what-have you. And gee, they badmouth the IDF. The AP does not
The Israeli army initially prevented Palestinian ambulances from reaching the scene to evacuate the wounded, the Palestinian officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details of the incident to the press. Two farmers were wounded in the exchange, they said.
And that’s graf number five, the one that generally ends the story in the three-to-five-graf World News section of your local paper. Here’s what gets cut out:
The exchange of fire occurred in the area of Beit Hanoun, where militants from the radical Islamic Jihad frequently shoot rockets toward Israel. Though Israel has been observing a cease-fire with Palestinian militants in Gaza since November, Islamic Jihad has refused to join the truce.
Now let’s look at the Reuters story. I’m actually rather amazed at the accuracy of this one.
Israeli troops kill gunman at border
Typical Reuters headline: Israelis always “kill,” but when, for instance, Hamas kills civilian bystanders, they are “killed by stray fire” or something of that sort. But at least they call the terrorists a “gunman.”
Apr 4, 2007 — GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian gunman at the Gaza border on Wednesday, a militant group said.
An Israeli army spokesman said an Israeli force shot at three armed men, killing one of them and wounding at least one other, as they placed an explosive device 15 meters (50 feet) from the Gaza border fence.
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a militant coalition, said one of its fighters was shot and killed by Israeli forces near the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. A Palestinian ambulance retrieved his body.
The group originally said he had been wounded and taken to Israel.
This is actually one of the most accurate Reuters pieces I’ve ever read. Notice how they don’t highlight the claim that the IDF prevented Palestinian ambulances from picking up the wounded (a commonly-made claim, without reference to the fact that Palestinian ambulances are often filled with gun-toting terrorists). Reuters calls the terrorist a gunman, doesn’t deny he was one of three terrorists planting bombs, and then we get to this shocker:
A PRC spokesman said the gunman had been on a “jihadi mission,” a term it uses to describe an attack against an Israeli target or a scouting mission to prepare for an operation.
Well, paint me pink and call me Rosie. They used the word “jihad” in a form other than to mean “personal struggle.” And they used the term “jihadi” as well. Except they’re using the word “operation” when they should be using “attack.”
Still, they used the term “jihadi.” Someone notify CAIR!