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October 18, 2005

Reuters Headline Equalizes Victims, Terrorists

Oz (Yisrael) Ben-Meir, 15, was one of three innocent Israeli civilians murdered Sunday

Three innocent Israeli civilians waiting at a hitchhiking stop,including a teenager, were gunned down by Palestinian terrorists on Sunday. The same day, a commander in the Islamic Jihad terrorist group opened fire on Israeli soldiers, who then shot him to death.

Not exactly comparable cases. Nevertheless, a Reuters headline on Sunday depicted them as such:

Three settlers, Islamic militant killed in W. Bank

Beyond the headline, the article by Nael Al-Shyouki fell into some of the tired examples of bias.

1) Al-Shyouki distorts the Palestinian "road map" requirement to disarm militants as an Israeli and U.S. demand:

Abbas has been under U.S. and Israeli pressure to rein in and disarm militants as a condition for road map negotiations on Palestinian statehood.

2) The article lacks critical context when it states:

Palestinians want Gaza and the West Bank for a future state and Arab East Jerusalem for a capital. All three were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

Just to clarify, once we're (ostensibly) giving context: Israel captured Gaza and the West Bank (also eastern Jerusalem) from Egypt and Jordan respectively, not from the Palestinians. These territories were gained in a defensive pre-emptive war.

(Hat tip: Dave A.)

Posted by TS at October 18, 2005 01:44 PM