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November 15, 2006
Reuters' "Revenge" Rocket
The headline to a Reuters news video segment about today's fatal Palestinian rocket attack echos the Hamas and Islamic Jihad propaganda about the attack, claiming it was merely a response to a fatal Israeli shelling in Beit Hanoun. The headline reads: "Revenge rocket kills Israeli woman."
The voice-over by reporter Sonya Legg (sp?) similarly asserted that "the attack was a response to last weeks shelling in Beit Hanoun... ." Has Reuters somehow determined that the Palestinian rocket would not have been launched had Israel's misfired shell in Beit Hanoun not killed any Palestinians? What about the fact that such rocket fire preceded Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip, has been ongoing for years, and continued even after Israel ended its occupation of the area?
Indeed, the reporter acknowledged that "300 Palestinian rockets have been fired into southern Israel since the start of the year." So what does Reuters consider those attacks?
Compare the news service's unquestioning acceptance of Hamas's rational for the rocket attack with its less-accepting reports on Israel's security fence. Although Israel insists that purpose of the barrier is to keep suicide bombers and other terrorists from attacking Israeli population centers, Reuters does not describe it as "security barrier." Instead it gives equal weight to Israel's claim and Palestinian assertions that the fence is merely a "move to seize land."
(The Associated Press had similarly flirted with calling Palestinian suicide bombers "revenge bombers"—read about it here—but has since stopped using such absurd and partisan language.)
Posted by at November 15, 2006 03:48 PM
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