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.)
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