At Ha’aretz, Palestinian Terrorist Morphs into ‘Activist’
Last week, Ha’aretz considered slain Palestinian Isam al-Batash of the Gaza Strip a “terrorist” or “militant.” Today, the paper calls the same man an “activist.” The Dec. 8 headline and lede paragraph about the killed member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade who was preparing an attack in southern Israel read:
Today’s story carries details about al-Batash’s identity and terrorist involvements, describing him as:
Isam al-Batash, a Palestinian activist who was planning to carry out a terrorist attack into Israel from Egyptian territory. Batash, known for being a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and most recently to the Ayman Jude faction – a splinter group that broke away from Fatah – was killed in an air strike along with aide and family member Ala al-Batash. . . .
The decision to assassinate Isam al-Batash on Thursday was made after taking into account that there would be an escalation following the attack. However, the conclusion was reached that the attack was necessary in order to disrupt an attack being planned along the border with Egypt.
Batash funded and organized a team, probably a mixture of Bedouins from Egypt, to carry out an attack in northern Eilat. (Emphasis added.)
Despite the fact that we now have more, not less, information about al-Batash’s terror plans, Ha’aretz has inexplicably downgraded him from a “terrorist” to an “activist.” Why?
See today’s subheadline:
Hat tip: Matthew Mainen
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